Copy
by NeeP
Summary: This is a story about a young kopii called 'Copy', and his journey of self discovery. Just because he sorta resembles a wanted criminal swordsman named Gourry Gabriev is no reason to kill him!
1. Bringing Up Copy

_This is chapter one to 'Copy'. All C&C's are welcomed at [nikiparadis@hotmail.com][1]. Please Enjoy..._

###  "Copy"

_(A Slayers Fanfic)_

_By: Niki "NeeP" Paradis_

**_Chapter One: Bringing up Copy..._**   


Everything was exploding. Canisters were shattering, pipes bursting, and all round chaos ensued. The wizard in charge of the Leyrun Wizards Guild, specialising in chimeras, was in a screaming fit at the retreating backs of the criminals.   
"GET OUT!!! STAY OUT!!! DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK HERE!!!" he screamed.   
The perpetrators, a young, under-developed red-head teen-age girl, a lanky vacant-eyed blonde man, a doe-eyed, raven-hair young woman and a spunky, loud cheerful young girl with short dark hair, were all fleeing the scene as fast as they can.   
"Sorry!" called out the redhead. "No hard feelings, okay?!?"   
Then they were gone. The old man stared for a moment after the empty spot where the redhead and her cronies had vanished, then he collapsed on the spot. 

The old man sat in the debris of what was once his masterpiece. Pieces of the ceiling were still raining down on him as he sat in shocked silence. Those two morons destroyed his wonderful, wonderful kopii incubator. _Hah!_ They may say that they were a master-swordsman and a magic-genius, but it was obvious that they were both complete morons. And now, he can't even find out if the machine that he had spent valuable guild funds on even worked right. He was certain that there was no way that the guild could afford to pay for repairs for all of the damages. He wanted to cry...   
"Are you all right, Master Tomas?" asked a meek sounding voice, breaking through his misery. The old wizard looked into the young face of his assistant and apprentice, Devin. The boy appeared to be bruised and his robe was scorched and tattered, but seemed to be all right.   
"I'm all right, lad," he said to reassure him. "Just a little bit in shock, that's all."   
The young assistant helped his master onto his feet.   
"It looks bad, doesn't it?" asked the young man.   
"Hmmm?" mumbled Master Tomas as he picked broken bits of glass from out of his beard. He looked around at the debris and sighed. "I suppose that it does look that way... But I find that it hurts to look at this. I mean, look what they have done to it..." He paused, then shook himself. "But we'll take total stock of the damage in the morning, all right lad?" he said in a calmer voice. "It hurts a little too much to think about it right now."   
They started to walk through the settling dust towards the new exit that was created in the explosion.   
"I guess so," said Devin finally. "I just wish that there was some way to salvage..." he was at a lost for words, "something from all this mess."   
"I know what you mean, lad," sighed the old wizard. "I really was looking forward to studying exactly how much memories and skills can be transferred from the original master-swordsman into a kopii... But I guess we won't be finding out anytime too soon."   
Moonlight was peeking through the holes in the walls and ceiling, making ghostly shapes through out of the dust and wreckage. Master Tomas sighed again as he looked at the ruined half-formed bodies of his latest batch of chimeras. _What a waste_, he thought to himself, starting to fall into a deep funk. His gaze was torn away from the mis-shaped forms as he spotted something glittering gold in a patch of moonlight. Apparently, Devin saw it too and the two of them walked up to the golden object together.   
It was a lock of blonde hair.   
The old man's thoughts went through his mind quickly. It wasn't his hair as his was grey, it wasn't Devin's hair as the boy had short brown hair, so it was obviously the hair of one of the intruders. --And only one of them had blonde hair. He started to get excited. He practically ran over to the piece of hair and carefully pulled it free from the pieces of wreckage that it was lodged into.   
"It's the hair of that master-swordsman, isn't it?" asked Devin, who knew his master well enough to follow his thoughts.   
"That it is, lad. At least not all of the samples have been destroyed," he chuckled. "Maybe it's not so bad of a night that we thought, eh?"   
Quickly, the old man cast a preservation spell onto the lock of hair. After a quick search through the wreckage of the lab, he managed to find an intact and fairly clean jar to place it into. It might be awhile before everything is up and running again, but at least he won't have to waste time to find a sample.   
"All right, Devin, m'boy, lets go home!" he said cheerfully.   
He dropped his assistant into the concerned and over-protective arms of his mother and merrily went on his way. He thought about how he the project, that was now back into action.   
After all, thought the old man to himself, the machine can be rebuilt, --especially with the original plans locked up in the safe at home. _I'll find the money to get it working again_. And now he had the sample to work on. So all that the group of morons did was set things back a bit. After the disaster of the day, things were starting to look up. Not even the concerned fussing of his wife, when he got home, late and dirty managed to dampen his spirits. 

* * *

Other things happened as well.   
For one thing, a rogue kopii of an infamous red-priest destroyed the nearby city of Sairaag the following evening. And all of the survivors were making their way to the outlying villages and to other parts as well.   
It was a good and bad thing.   
It was good, because in the time-span of three months, the small village of Leyrun was growing fast. It started at first as shanty-houses, then proper structures were being built and new craftsmen and artisans were moving in and setting up business. It was a wonderful thing for the economy, and everyone was taking advantage of all that was becoming available. Including Master Tomas.   
After assessing the damage, he was pleased and relieved to find that his kopii machine wasn't as bad off as he thought. The pipes were broken and the tubes needed to be replaced, but the rest of the machine was in decent shape. The repairs to the equipment and building were almost completely covered by insurance, as Master Tomas had the foresight to take some out in case of an incident in sabotage. And let's face it, that was what the group of morons did a few months back... more or less. He also decided to take advantage of the influx of craftsmen and artisans to get the structural integrity of the Guild building reinforced. Professional plumbers, instead of students trying to earn credits and currying the guild-master's favour soldered the new pipes. And they all worked cheaply, as everyone was competing against each other to have their services used. It was a 'buyer's market'.   
It was a bad thing because the popularity of the art of chimera making, especially 'kopii magic' has hit an all time low. It was a kopii that destroyed the city of Sairaag and not one of the survivors wanted to see or hear anything about that specific form of magic again. In short, there were too many people who have something against the concept of 'kopii-ing' and they would more than likely lynch the old man if they knew that was the area that he specialised in.   
Master Tomas simply decided to avoid a spectacle by simply not admitting to what kind of research that his guild majored in. So he had to lie about what exactly the machine did. It wasn't like the rest of the villagers ever had a real clue to what went on at the guild-house. 

Then one sunny morning, after all of the repairs were made to the equipment and building, Master Tomas and his assistant, Devin, got to work. First they made sure that everything was clean and working properly. Then, the old man opened the jar that he kept the lock of hair in. He dispelled the preservation spell and placed the hair into the receiving tube and closed the cover. He watched as the tube filled up with the liquid and chemicals that were necessary to make sure that the spell worked. Devin looked up momentarily from the readouts and glanced at the rapidly dissolving hair.   
"Excuse me, Master Tomas?" he asked hesitantly.   
"Yes? What is it, lad?"   
"Was there supposed to be a few red hairs mixed with the blonde ones?" he asked.   
"Huh?" Quickly the old man stared at what was left of the hair in the tube. A few strands of brilliant red hair dissolved along with the blonde. He blinked once and the hair was gone.   
"Uh..." said the wizard brightly. Then he shook himself and looked at his assistant with determination. "It can be a control," he said. "We'll see how much of a difference a few strands of hair can make."   
Devin shrugged. What the hell, why not! He returned to looking at the gauges and readouts. "Everything else appears to be normal sir," reported.   
"Excellent!" It was obvious that Master Tomas was excited. "Tell you what, lad. Since the process takes a day and a half, we'll have time to go to the inn and celebrate."   
"I dunno..." mumbled the boy. "My mother wanted me to save my money for a rainy day..."   
"Don't worry about it, lad. I'm buying."   
That made Devin perk right up. As fair as a Master and teacher that the old man was, he had to admit that the wizard was a bit on the frugal side. Ah, the hell with it... The old man was cheap. He was a tightwad with his and the guild's funds. So when the boy heard the phrase 'free food', it was obviously an opportunity not to be missed. The head of the guild was obviously in a very good mood. There was only one way to reply, and so Devin did.   
"Yes sir! I'd love to celebrate too!" he said.   
The two of them went to the TreeView Inn. Master Tomas ordered Roast-beef sandwiches and ale for the both of them. Devin was reluctant to try the brew at first, but his master reminded him that his mother can't be with him all of his life. So he took a sip. The liquid burned slightly through his throat and warmed his stomach. Within a few moments, all of the doubts that he had about the project had disappeared. He felt good about the whole thing. He felt better than he did his whole protected life. This good feeling came into being about 2 minutes after the boy took his first drink. But that really didn't matter to the boy.   
"I love you, Master..." giggled the assistant.   
"Hmm... Master Tomas looked a bit concerned. "I think that you had a bit much to drink, lad. Maybe you ought to stay at the lab tonight so that your mother doesn't get a look at you looking like that."   
Devin hiccuped. "H'okay..." he agreed.   
"You can help me set up a bed in the lab and stay there just in case something goes wrong with the project."   
Devin nodded.   
"Good lad."   
The two returned to the guild house --going the long way around in order to avoid passing Devin's house. The old man was grateful the mother of the household to let Devin be apprenticed to him, but he knew that she worried about her youngest son from time to time. If she knew that her son's master had gone ahead and gotten her youngest completely drunk, she'd more than likely freak out.   
Devin came from a rather large merchant's family, and he was considered to be the odd one out, as the boy rather study magic than make a profit. But his parents were both supportive. They figured that it was time for a new direction for the prominent family, as long as their youngest did not get hurt. If Devin got hurt, again, the financial support that they gave to the magic guild would be pulled immediately. Master Tomas almost lost everything that night of the explosion. He was lucky that Devin was little more than scratched. A broken leg would've cost the guild an arm and a leg --so to speak.   
Fortunately they managed to scoot around the problem area without running into anyone who would tattle to Devin's family. They made it to the guild-house and into the lab without too much trouble. It took around two hours for the two of them to set up the bed, but it went up soon enough. Master Tomas was even decent enough to give his apprentice the bed while he slept in the old easy chair that he used for studying. 

* * *

It was mid-afternoon the next day when the kopii incubator chimed. Both master and student quickly turned their concentration away from the poker game that they were playing (Devin was winning) and looked towards the huge chamber where the 'final product' was to come out. Devin looked at the readouts.   
"Everything checks out, Master Tomas," he said.   
"That's good, lad." The old man was quavering in anticipation. "Bring over that clipboard from the table and bring it here. I do believe that the door is about to open."   
"Yessir."   
The door of the chamber opened with a slight crack. Expecting the worse, like a puddle of ectoplasm or a seventy-armed monster, the two scientists/wizards rushed to the opening and looked inside. Each was quivering with excitement.   
A confused looking young man sat on the floor. He blinked in the sudden light that was coming from the crack of the open doors. One of his knees was drawn up to his chin and his hair spilt down his back and onto the floor. He shivered in the sudden coolness that came into the chamber. He saw the old wizard and apprentice and swallowed. Then he cleared his throat and spoke.   
"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?" he asked.   
"..." The old man was at a lost for words. Then suddenly, it occurred to him. He let out a whoop of pure joy. "It worked! He's alive!" He turned to Devin. "We did it, lad!"   
Devin grinned, pleased that the old man's experiment came true. The young man in the chamber looked even more confused.   
"What's going on?" he asked.   
The old man stopped his celebrating and looked at the new life he had just made. "Oh! Sorry about that. C'mon out lad." He reached into the chamber and helped the young man to his feet and led him out. "Let's see how you look."   
Once the kopii was out, Master Tomas began to do an examination. He muttered comments as he examined every little detail. He studied the fingernails, "Fingernails are fully formed." He pulled the young man's head down and looked into his eyes, "Eyes are clear--no sign of cloudiness..." He gave a quick tug on the long hair, "Good, good... Hair's rooted firmly." The old man took two steps back and looked the tall figure up and down. "All in all, I'd say he's perfect." He paused. "The colours are a little off," he said.   
Devin's eyes were round as saucers as he watched the examination take place. The young man was getting red in the face. "Excuse me..." he said.   
"Hmmm?" asked the old man. "What is it, lad?"   
"Are you some kind of pervert or something?"   
"What do you mean?"   
The tall young man made no movement to cover his nakedness, but the old wizard caught on anyway.   
"Oh! Sorry about that!" The old man had the decency to blush. "Devin, pass over that blanket from off the bed." He took hold of the blanket from the assistant. "Thanks. Here, lad. Use this."   
The young man took the blanket and wrapped it around himself. He allowed the old wizard lead him to a chair and sat down. "What is going on here?" he asked exasperatedly. "Is there any food around here at all?!?"   
"I'm sorry?"   
"You take a guy's clothes from him, stare at him while he's in the buff and you don't even have the decency to FEED HIM?!?" The young man stopped his ranting as if he was suddenly aware of what he was saying. He blushed. "Sorry about that..." he mumbled.   
"Must be because you're hungry," suggested Master Tomas. He went to a cupboard and brought out some bread, cheese and cold cuts. He set them down in front of the young man. "Here you go, lad," he said. He called over to Devin, who was still standing in shock, "Bring over the pitcher of water, will you, please? Our young friend is probably very thirsty."   
"Yeah!" said the young man brightly, then proceeded to wolf down all of the food. The old man and his assistant could only watch in wonder as the foodstuff disappeared into what appeared to be a black hole of sorts. When the kopii gestured towards the pitcher in Devin's hands, the young apprentice could only pass it over in complete silence.   
"Thanks!" The water was gone in a few gulps, and the young man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That's better. Now, can you guys tell me what is going on here?"   
The old wizard introduced himself. "I'm Master Thomas, head of this magic guild. This is my apprentice and assistant, Devin. What do you remember about yourself, lad?" The old man didn't quite realised that he had just made a mistake.   
"Oh! That's easy!" grinned the young man. "My name is Gourry Gabriev and I was born..."   
The old man was startled at first when he realised that he copied a young man whose wanted poster was pasted all over Sairaag, and that he was risking his life those months past with a wanted criminal in his lab. The as the young man went into detail, he then realised what kind of mistake he had just made.   
The next four hours were filled with the young man telling his life story.   
"...And then Lina and the guys and me all came in here to see how copies were made, and we made a whole mess of little copies of me and Lina which fought and the Lina copies won and they all disappeared. Then the big machine started to blow up and we tried to get away. Then I woke up in that chamber of that machine and now I'm talking to you." The young man then looked to his audience to see how well his story was received.   
Devin was snoring on a nearby wooden chair, leaning against the table. A small puddle of drool was under his head. Master Tomas was struggling to keep from nodding off. He suddenly realised that the talking stopped and he shook himself.   
"That was uh, very interesting," lied the old man, but I have some disturbing news to tell you, lad. You better sit down."   
The young man blinked. "But I am sitting down."   
"Quite right." The old man paused. "Well, it's like this..." He stopped again. Then he prodded Devin awake. "You tell him, lad."   
"Huh?" was the apprentice's intelligent reply. "Tell him what, sir...?"   
"Uh..." Master Tomas didn't know what to say.   
"Yeah, tell me what?" prompted the tall youth.   
"Uh, right." The old man sighed. "Well, since you're my responsibility..." He walked up and put his hands on the young man's shoulders. "You're not this 'Gourry Gabriev' that you believe you are."   
"I'm not? What do you mean?" The youth seemed confused.   
"You see that bell-shaped chamber over there? The one you came out of?"   
"Yeah..."   
"That's the 'kopii-incubator'. You came from that. Do you follow me so far?"   
"I guess..."   
"Do you know what that means?"   
"Nope!" the youth said brightly.   
The old man and the assistant both face-faulted. Devin fell out of his chair. Master Tomas recovered and tried not to strangle the new life he has created.   
"I'm trying to tell you that you are a kopii of this person, 'Gourry'," he said exasperatedly. You got that?"   
The tall young man shook his head in disbelief. "You got to be kidding..." he mumbled.   
"It's the truth lad. I'm not kidding. Maybe you're not an 'exact' kopii, but a kopii is what you are."   
"Not an 'exact' kopii? Am I a kopii or are you guy simply full of it?" The young man sounded indignant.   
"The colouring's a little off," the old wizard admitted embarrassed.   
"The colour's a little off?!?" The tall youth was confused and angry all at once.   
Devin went to a cupboard and pulled out a hand mirror.   
"Maybe you ought to take a look for yourself," he suggested. "It'll prove that Master Tomas isn't lying."   
The young man gingerly took the mirror, and studied his reflection. It was the face he has always known, and everything was in the right place, but the colours were all wrong. Instead of the cornflower blue that he knew that his eyes should be, they were a warm lavender. And the hair framing his face was a reddish-gold instead of the colour of new hay like it was supposed to be.   
"Why..." started the young man. "Why are the colours wrong"   
"It's probably because of the few strands of red hair that got mixed in with the blonde when Master Tomas created you."   
"Created me..." said the young man dejectedly as the information sunk home. His voice was getting depressed. "So you're saying that I'm not who I think I am?"   
"Sorry lad," sympathised Master Tomas, "I'm afraid not."   
The young kopii said nothing for a few minutes. And then...   
"Do you have anymore food? I like to eat when I'm depressed."   
The old man patted his shoulder. "Not at the moment. But, Devin...?" He looked to his apprentice.   
"I'll go get something form the inn, Master Tomas," said the boy, figuring out what his master wanted.   
"A lot of food?" asked the young man hopefully.   
The old man sighed. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a battered looking pouch. He opened it up and a cloud of dust and a few moths escaped to freedom. He reached into the bag and pulled out a few coins, which he handed to Devin.   
"Here you go, lad."   
"Yes sir."   
"Be sure to get a receipt."   
The boy fought to keep from rolling his eyes upward. "Yes sir," he said again, then left.   
Once Devin was gone, Master Tomas turned to his new ward and spoke softly to him.   
"I know that this is tough for you, lad, but I need you to choose a new name. Can you do that?"   
"Uh..." the young kopii looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do I have to?"   
"It's for your own protection, lad."   
"Uh, okay..." The youth concentrated really hard for a moment. Then he grinned.   
"You have one?" asked the old wizard.   
"Yeah. I want to be called, uh, 'Gourry'."   
The old man fell to the floor in shock, his hands in the o-yakusoku position. It took a moment before he could climb back to his feet.   
"I meant a different name," he said shortly.   
"Oh." The young man thought some more, then he shook his head. "I can't," he said. "I can't seriously think myself as anyone else but 'Gourry'. Who else can I be?"   
The wizard sighed. "Don't worry about it now, lad. We'll work on it tomorrow morning. Here's Devin with the food."   
Sure enough, the apprentice came in with a huge tray of food that he set down in front of the young man. Then he stood back as the kopii tore into the food with not quite as much enthusiasm as before. But the food disappeared quickly enough. The tall youth stood up and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. He shivered.   
"Are you okay, lad?" asked Master Tomas, concerned.   
"I'm not sure..." said the youth in a very quiet voice. "I think that I'd like to be by myself for a bit."   
The old man looked out the window at the night sky. "It's time for bed anyway. You can stay here for the night," he pointed to the bed that was set up the night before. "The uh, 'facilities' are down the hall and to the right." He pointed the way. "And Devin will be staying in the study, if you need anything."   
"Hey!" exclaimed Devin.   
"It's all right, Devin, my boy. I cleared it with your mother. I told you that you had a project to oversee tonight."   
"You mean, me..." muttered the kopii.   
"Shh. It's all right lad." The wizard patted his ward's arm.   
"Well, if it's okay with Mom..." the boy began, "I guess I can stay..."   
"That's the spirit, lad. This young man won't be any trouble at all, right?"   
"I guess..." mumbled the young man.   
"Where will you be Master?" asked Devin.   
"I'll be doing some important stuff tonight, lad. Don't you worry about it. I'll be back early tomorrow morning."   
"Okay." 

Master Tomas left shortly afterwards. He knew that he couldn't quite tell his wife that he had successfully created a kopii. Especially since she has heard those nightmare stories that the refugees were telling about. That didn't mean that he couldn't celebrate with her though. He had picked up the flowers and wine that he had stashed in his office earlier that day and he was sure that his wife would be happy to celebrate with him, even though she wouldn't know what they were celebrating about.   
Well, the wizard's wife was more than happy to celebrate with him. In fact she was pleasantly surprised as well --she didn't think that the old man had it in him. And so, they uh, celebrated well into the night. 

And in the laboratory of the magic guild, a very confused young man huddled under the blankets.   
_I'm not Gourry_, he thought to himself. _Or at least not anymore... Who am I now? _The thought of being a duplicate of a man that he thought he was very depressing. He had all of the memories, but not the identity. And at the moment, he really didn't have a name either. _I'm nobody_, he thought bleakly. He wondered briefly if life was worth living without having an identity, and whether or not he wanted to continue living it, but he shrugged and realised that an identity isn't all that hard to come by. Maybe if he can come up with a name he can build up the new identity from that.   
The nameless young man fell asleep while trying to think of a new name. 

* * *

Morning came and a very happy Master Tomas came strolling into the guild-house while carrying a huge bundle. He passed the study and noted that Devin was already up and about. He found his assistant in the lab, playing a card game with the tall young man, his kopii. They weren't playing for money, which was probably a good thing, as the youth didn't have any and the fact that he seemed to be losing. Devin, the merchant's son, was trying to explain some of the principals of poker.   
"You have to keep a straight face," he said. "As it is, you're letting everyone know what you are holding by reading the expression on your face."   
"But I am keeping a straight face," muttered the kopii. "This is the face I always use."   
Master Tomas shook his head. Even he wouldn't have any problem fleecing the young man if the young man was worth the fleecing. His emotions were very transparent on his face, whether or not he held a good hand or bad.   
"'Morning, lads," he said cheerfully, interrupting the lessons. "We've a very busy day ahead of us."   
"We do?" asked the tall youth.   
"Yes sir," stated Devin. "What is it that we're supposed to do?"   
"Will there be breakfast first?"   
"Can I go check in with Mom first? She tends to worry."   
"We'll get it all done lads, don't you worry." Master Tomas then turned to his creation. "How are you feeling today, lad? Any problems?"   
"Uh, no," replied the kopii. "I feel fine."   
"No aches or pains?"   
"No."   
"The plumbing works?"   
"What?!?" The young man went red.   
"I have to make sure that there is nothing wrong with you. So did you, or not, have any problems answering the call of nature?"   
"**NO!!!**"   
"Good. Now here's some clothes for you to wear for a little bit." He passed the bundle over to the young man. "They may be a little small in places, but we're getting you something more suitable anyway today, so you'll be a good lad and bear it for the time being, right?"   
"I guess." The young man pulled out a shirt from the pile and pulled it over his head. He continued to get dressed as the wizard and apprentice looked the other way. "Will we be getting breakfast?" he asked, signalling the fact that he had finished getting dressed.   
"Yes," said Master Tomas testily. The he asked, "Did you think of a new name yet?"   
The young man's shoulders slumped. "No. I couldn't think of one I liked."   
"Why does he need a different name anyway, Master?" asked Devin.   
"Yeah?" prompted the kopii.   
"Well, a few months back, there were wanted posters of a 'Gourry Gabriev' posted all over the city of Sairaag, along with pictures of Lina Inverse and a Zelgadis Greyweirs. The majority of the people around here pretty much blame the group for the destruction of the city, even though I understand that the group actually destroyed the renegade-kopii that actually caused the downfall of the city." The old man sighed. "Anyway, both the name, 'Gourry', and the term 'kopii' are not very popular at the moment. So a new name is necessary, and we better not refer to you as the 'kopii'. Do you understand that, young man?" He turned to the kopii.   
"I guess so," said the youth. "But it's hard to come up with a name."   
"I know lad."   
"So what are we doing, Master?" asked Devin again.   
"Well, we'll have to get this young man some clothes that fit him properly, then we really ought to get him a sword. That way we can continue the studies."   
"Studies?" asked the young man.   
"Yes. We'll see how many of Gourry's skills you will retain."   
"Oh."   
"Let's be off, lads." 

The trio walked into town, momentarily stopping at Devin's house to allow him to check in with his mother. The young man hid in the bushes to avoid the awkwardness that an introduction would bring, especially to a guy with no name. Master Tomas was praising Devin's progress to his mother, telling her that to celebrate, he was treating her son to a big breakfast down at the inn. The mother gave her permission and admonished her youngest son not to spoil his appetite for dinner, which was meat loaf and all of the trimmings. Devin made the promise easily, especially since he loved his mother's meat loaf.   
Then they continued on their way. Master Tomas was aware of how the ladies of the town were looking at the young man as they walked by. He was also aware of how the young man wasn't even aware of all the glances. Soon they reached a tailor's shop and they all went in.   


The young woman at the counter looked at the trio with interest as they came in. An old guy in wizard's robes, a young man in apprentice wizard's robes and a tall handsome young man in clothes that didn't fit him very well.   
"How can I help you today, gentlemen?" she asked.   
"My nephew here, needs some new clothes. As you can see, he pretty much outgrew these ones."   
"Of course, sir." She turned to the tall young man. "Is there any preference that you would like?" she asked.   
"Yes," replied the young man. "I like blue."   
The young woman practically dimpled. "I think that blue would look wonderful on you."   
Master Tomas pulled his assistant aside. "Here's is where I want you to start taking notes," he said to the boy. "I want you to study how he interacts with other people. You got that, lad?"   
"Yes sir," replied Devin.   
Quickly, the young woman took out a tape measure and pulled it across the youth's shoulders, chest, waist and so on. "I think I might have something already made that just might suit you."   
"Oh?" asked the youth.   
"I'll bring it out. Wait right there."   
"Okay."   
The woman went into the back. The sounds of rummaging could be heard. Soon enough, she brought a simple tunic and trousers out and handed them to the young man.   
"There's a changing booth over there, if you want to try them on," she said, gesturing to a small booth with a curtain in the front.   
The youth just stood there, unsure of what to do.   
"Go on, lad," prompted Master Tomas. "There's no point in buying them if they don't fit."   
"Uh, yes sir." The young man went into booth and pulled the curtain shut. In a few moments, he came out again wearing the outfit.   
"It suits you well," the young woman said. "Why don't you take a look in that mirror over there?"   
The young man walked to the mirror and studied his reflection. The tunic and trousers were both made of the same sky-blue material that set off his strawberry-blonde hair very well. It also made his lavender eyes stand out a little more. He was confused by his appearance that looked not quite the way he was certain that it was supposed to be.   
"So what do you think, Mister...?" the young woman prompted.   
There was no reply, as the young man was still looking in the mirror.   
"Excuse me, sir? Mister...?" The young woman didn't have a name to put to the handsome youth.   
Still no reply.   
Devin, who was a little annoyed by being in a clothes shop with a young woman who was not even looking at him, and stuck writing observations instead of introducing himself to the girl, called out to the young man.   
"Hey you!" he said. "**_Kopii!_** Answer her!" Then he slapped his hand over his mouth realising what he said.   
Master Tomas brought his fist on top of the boy's head. "Idiot!" he muttered.   
The youth turned, his eyes opened wide.   
But the young woman wasn't taken aback at all.   
"_Copy?_" she asked. "What an interesting name. What nationality is it?"   
The old man thought fast. "We're not quite sure," he said, "but it's from overseas."   
"Oh? So, Mister Copy, what do you think of the outfit?"   
"It's nice," said the youth, not knowing what to say.   
"That it is, lad," replied Master Tomas. "Tell me, young lady, what is the price?"   
"Twenty silver," she replied.   
"I'll give you ten," countered the wizard.   
The two haggled until the price was right for both of them. Then the old man paid and they all left. 

Outside, the young man made a bundle out of the old clothes and slung it over his shoulder.   
"_Copy?!?_" he asked Devin. "Why did you call me that?"   
"It was an accident," mumbled the apprentice. "I was trying to get your attention."   
"We were supposed to keep away form the phrase '_kopii_'. That's what Master Tomas said."   
"Sorry," said Devin meekly.   
The trio was now walking among other people.   
The old wizard chuckled. "It's probably not what I would have chosen for a name, but I guess it'll do."   
"You mean that he's stuck with it as a name now?" asked the apprentice incredulously. "Why? Only that woman in the tailor's shop heard me call him that."   
"Yoo-hoo! _Mister Copy!_" called out a voice, and the young woman from the tailor's shop came running up. "I would like you to have this," she said as she pressed another tunic into his hands. "There's no one else your size and I'd hate to see my work go to waste..."   
The people around them all chuckled at the scene. The young man blushed as he accepted the gift.   
"Uh, thanks..." he said in an almost shy voice.   
"No problem, take care." The young woman was already running back to her shop. "See you around, Mister Copy!" she called over her shoulder.   
"Well now, lad," chuckled the old man, patting the tall youth on the shoulder, "what do you make of that?"   
"I don't know..."   
"Well, it seems that a lot of people know your name now, so why not accept it?"   
The young man shrugged. "I guess it's not so bad of a name, and if I find a better one that I like, I can change it, right?"   
"Well, it might be a little bit more difficult than that, lad, but it can be done."   
"Okay," said the newly dubbed Copy. "I can live with that."   
"Good. Now we better get you over to a shoemaker. You're going to be needing boots as well, lad."   
"How about breakfast?"   
"Yes, Master Tomas, when will we eat?" asked Devin.   
"After we pick some boots up for Copy. Is that all right lads?"   
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed the two youths. 

A little later and the three could be seen at a table at the inn. Huge amounts of food were piled high in front of them, but it was Copy who was eating the majority of it. Master Tomas looked sadly into the pouch that held some of the guild's funds. It was almost empty. The sad part was that most of the money was being spent on the meal than on anything else, except for the sword, that has yet to be purchased. The old man sighed. This was the most money he has ever spent in one day with the one exception of his daughter's wedding, twenty years ago.   
Copy was oblivious to the old man's mood. He was busy stuffing his face with all of the food that he can. It was the first time since learning that he wasn't who he thought he was that he has been in a positive mood. He had a name now --maybe it wasn't a real name, but it was something that he could use to start building a new identity with. He even had new clothes, and boots, all simple in style, but they belong to him, _Copy_, and that also helped in establishing who he was. All he needed now was a sword, and he knew that he would have to haggle with Master Tomas over the right sword. Especially since it was apparent that the old man was a bit uh, tight with the purse strings, but in order to get a good sword, money had to be paid. After all, and especially with swords, you get what you pay for. 

After the meal was eaten, the trio went off to the blacksmith's. Copy told the two magic users that he would be telling the blacksmith what he wanted. Master Tomas agreed and said that allowing the youth to choose his own weapon will help him and his assistant with their studies of their project. They entered the shop.   
The blacksmith was a huge, grizzled middle age man who reminded Copy of some foreign prince. He looked to the three men in slight puzzlement. He had no idea what the two men in wizard's robes wanted, but the third guy --the tall young man was already looking around the shop as if he already knew what he was looking for.   
"I'm Master Groning. What can I do for you today?" the smith asked.   
"What do have for swords?" the tall youth asked.   
The blacksmith looked the young man up and down; he nodded at the properly developed sword muscles, his stance and his seriousness. _The boy knows what he's about_, the man thought to himself.   
"What kind of sword do you have in mind?" asked the blacksmith.   
"Hmmm..." The boy looked thoughtful. "I'd like a straight, two-handed sword with a double-edged blade."   
"Well now," drawled the blacksmith, "if that's what you want, then I got a few to choose from." He gestured to a selection on the wall. Various swords, meeting Copy's qualifications hung as if waiting for the right person to take them down. There was one that caught the young man's eye. It had a fancy scrolled hilt with guilt and gems. He took it off of the wall and carefully drew it from its sheath. It clanked as it was pulled out. With disgust, he re-sheathed it and returned it to its spot on the wall.   
"I really don't like that one." He announced.   
(Master Tomas let out a sigh of relief. To him it was a good thing that the boy wasn't going for the most expensively looking thing there.)   
"That's not one of mine," commented the swords-smith. "Some kooky noble gave it to in exchange for re-shoeing his horse. I think it's just a fancily made piece of crap."   
"I agree with you," commented Copy. "The weight was all wrong." He reached up and took a sword of a simpler make off the wall and unsheathed it.   
_Shiiiing!_ The sword came out smoothly. The young man held it up, squinting at it from side to side. He did a few practice swings with it.   
"This seems to be a nice blade," he commented.   
"You got a good eye, boy." The blacksmith sounded pleased. "That's one of my better works. Nothing fancy, but it's top quality, and I guarantee that she'll never let you down."   
The young man was thoughtful. "Is there a place where I can do some exercises with this?" he asked. "I want to make sure that this is the right sword for me."   
"There's a practice yard behind the shop. You can practice there."   
"Thanks."   
Master Tomas and Devin were both feeling a bit of the fifth and sixth wheel out, but they figured out that Copy did know what he was doing.   
"Do you mind if we watched you, lad?" asked the old man. "I admit that I'm a bit curious about the art."   
"Me too," chimed in the assistant.   
"Uh, sure --that is, if there is enough room." Copy looked to the grizzled man for confirmation.   
"Yeah, there's enough room." He handed the young man a sword belt. "Use this so you can get the best idea of how you want to wear the sword."   
"Right," said Copy. He attached the scabbard to the belt and put it on, adjusting it so that it hung just right. Then he went into the yard. The two magic users followed.   
The yard was just large enough for a guy to swing a sword around in and for a couple of spectators to watch, providing that they remained close to the fence, which both Master Tomas and Devin did. Copy walked to the middle of the yard and pulled the sword form its scabbard. It rang as it was pulled clear, and the sun reflected off the blade, matching the gleam from the young man's strawberry-blonde hair. Then he began to perform the exercises.   
Devin and Master Tomas watched in amazement as they saw what a master swordsman could do. They realised that Lina Inverse was correct about her companion a few months back and Copy's memory to do the same thing was proof that his experiment was a success. He was so excited, that he trembled. Devin had his mouth open, unaware of the fly that flew in and was now siting on his tongue. Soon the young man finished and re-sheathed the sword with a satisfied smile.   
"This is the sword I want, Master Tomas!" he announced. "I don't care how much it costs."   
"Well lad," chuckled the old man. "For that performance, I'd say that you earned it. Maybe I can bargain down the price a little..."   
"Sorry, sir," interjected Copy. "If you try to bargain him down, you'll just insult him. I'm positive that the smith will give us a reasonable price."   
The old man sighed. "If you say so lad..."   
They all went back inside the shop. The blacksmith was grinning at the brightness of Copy's eyes.   
Reluctantly, Master Tomas paid out the gold that the blade had cost. He sighed as he wondered where all of the money went (besides Copy's stomach). He was relived that the blacksmith threw in the sword-belt for free.   
Master Groning was pleased that the boy had picked out an excellent sword, and he said so. Copy grinned in appreciation.   
"It's a great sword. Maybe I'll be worthy of it."   
"I think you already are, boy. I'm sure of it."   
Copy left the shop, pleased with himself. Now that he had a sword, he felt properly dressed. Master Tomas may not have been pleased, but in the end, everything worked out for the best.   
"Now what?" asked Devin.   
"Now we will introduce Copy to the townspeople. And your mother, and my wife. We'll tell them all that he's my nephew... I'm sure that they will take a shine to him. You're a pretty friendly lad, aren't you Copy?"   
"Uh, yeah. That is unless they try to rob me or something." 

So the rest of the afternoon was spent with Master Tomas introducing Copy to the various townsfolk as his nephew. He told them that Copy's parents had recently died as a result of a fever and that he would be staying with the old man for a while.   
For the most part, everyone bought the story even though they couldn't quiet see the resemblance between the old man and the tall young one. But they all figure that adoption was possible somewhere along the way.   
Devin's mother was tickled pink to meet such a cheerful friendly young man. She was secretly hoping that Copy's charm and charisma would rub off onto her youngest son so that he can get himself something resembling a social life. They left the boy with his mother and went on to Master Tomas' house.   
"What are we going to tell your wife?" asked the youth.   
"What do you man, lad?"   
"Well, we told everyone that I was your nephew. She will definitely know better. What will you tell her?"   
"Hmmm..." The old man was lost in thought. "Good point, lad." He brightened. "Let's not worry about it. We'll see how everything goes then I'll decide what to tell her."   
"If you say so..." 

Master Tomas' wife, Tilly, was a woman who ran a bakeshop. She was plump and cheerful and didn't give a damn that everyone thought that her husband was weird. She met her husband at the door and gave him a kiss and greeted Copy like any other guest of her home.   
"Tilly," began Master Tomas, "this is Copy. He'll be staying in a room at the guild house for a while."   
"Please to make your acquaintance, lad," said the magician's wife in a cheerful voice. "So this is the one that you were introducing around town as our nephew, right?"   
Both the old man and the young one had the decency to blush.   
"H-how did you know about that?" asked Copy.   
"Well, when you run a bakery, you tend to hear every juicy bit of gossip that goes around town. And if that bit of gossip involves your husband a nephew that you didn't even know you had..." she trailed off and raised an eyebrow.   
"Well dear," began Master Tomas, "It's like this..."   
Tilly chuckled. "Don't you worry about it none, boyos. I already know where this lad comes from. I've read your notes that you leave scattered around the house, and I figured out why you were in such a celebrating mood last night. And unlike some of the closed-minded fools around here, I'm not against the idea of copies."   
Both Master Tomas and Copy looked like beached fish, gasping for air. Tilly ignored them and went on.   
"The way I look at it, the Rezo-kopii that your colleague, Eris, made was a bad apple from the start. She used a genotype that was power-hungry to begin with, so of course the kopii was going to be power-hungry as well. I don't think that Copy here will have those problems. Right lad?"   
"Uh, no!" exclaimed Copy. "Not in the least!"   
"Well now, then I don't see any problems." She looked at her husband. "So you made us a nephew, eh? It'll be nice to have someone else to cook for. And he'll be staying here, not in that draughty old guild house. We'll clear out the spare room and we can move that bed that you took from the storage room into there."   
"Yes dear..." murmured Master Tomas.   
"Thank-you ma'am..." started Copy.   
"Don't you dare 'Ma'am' me, lad. You call me 'Aunt Tilly', got it?"   
"Yes, Aunt Tilly."   
"Good lad. Now let's eat." She led the way to the dinning room.   


  


* * *

Copy laid on a couch in the living room. The couch wasn't as comfortable as the bed he slept in the night before, but it seemed a whole lot warmer. He thought about the last couple of days and sighed. To him it seemed like he became another person overnight --while retaining the memories of his previous life. And it didn't really bother him that he was the old man's experiment, as Master Tomas never once treated him like property, but always as a person. And now he also had a family and a place to stay. He'd rather be on the road, he admitted to himself, but there was no rush for that.   
He felt a little guilty about the little con he pulled on Master Tomas, earlier that day. He deliberately went for the most expensive looking sword at the Master Groning's shop first, as an attempt to get the old man to loosen his pouch-strings. After he convinced the wizard that he wasn't interested in the highest priced sparkly, he was able to get the sword he actually wanted in the first place.   
The problem was that a con job, no matter how small, wasn't something that Gourry would do. It was more along Lina's style of doing things. And that was what was bothering Copy.   
He yawned, stretched, resolved to figure out this personality quirk in the morning, rolled over and fell asleep. 

* * *

The following day was spent with Copy helping Master Tomas cleaning out the spare room and moving the bed into it. It was quite a hassle, as the bed had to be disassembled again in order for it to be moved. The he had to help Tilly take the mothballed blankets out of the attic and help her wash them. He also helped her with the baking and minding the bakery when the magician's wife was out on errands. Tilly was also pleased that the sales of sweet buns went up when Copy watched the counter. Of course, said buns were purchased for the most part by young girls, but they were paying customers too. Evening came soon enough and Master Tomas had to make a serious decision.   
He explained his dilemma around the dinner table.   
"Copy-lad," he started. "I have something important to tell you."   
"Yes sir?" Copy looked up from his plate piled high with mashed potatoes.   
"I'm afraid that you're going to have to get a job."   
"I do?"   
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Even though I know how much Tilly, here, likes to cook for you..." he nodded to his beaming wife, "We really can't afford the amounts of food that you're consuming."   
"Oh." Copy looked abashed.   
"Anyway, Master Groning, the blacksmith needs some help in moving some supplies into his shop. He needs the services of a strong lad, which you are, to get everything inside. The job will only last a few days, but he will pay you well. What do you think, lad?"   
"Okay, I guess. I don't mind helping to pay for the food."   
"See dear," said Tilly cheerfully. "He's a good lad."   
"You're right as always, dear." The old man nodded, glad to resolve the situation. 

* * *

Early the next morning, Copy got up, had a large breakfast and headed out to see Master Groning.   
"Will you be back for lunch, dear?" asked the magician's wife as he went out the door.   
"I don't know, Aunt Tilly. I'll have to wait and see."   
"All right. You be careful, now."   
"I will, don't worry," called the young man over his shoulder as he jogged down the road.   
Master Groning, the blacksmith was waiting for him when he entered the shop.   
"Good Morning. I see that it's you, the swords-boy. Glad to have you help out. What's your name, boy?"   
"Copy, sir."   
The blacksmith blinked at the odd name. "It's not a local name is it?" he asked.   
"No sir. Master Tomas thinks it's from overseas."   
"I see." The older man nodded. "Now, before we begin, I want you to know that there is a lot of pegs, nails and hooks that can easily catch in long hair." He chuckled. "Not to mentions a lot of hot metal objects."   
"There is?"   
"That's right. I'm sure that all the young ladies are simply fascinated with your long hair, but if you want to keep it that way, I recommend that you braid it. Not just tie it back, but actually braid it. You got that?"   
"Yes sir."   
"Good. You can used this." He handed the younger man a leather thong. "Get it done quickly and then we can get to work."   
It took a few minutes and a few tries, but Copy managed to get his strawberry-blonde hair into a long plait. He tied the end of it with the thong and casually tossed the braid behind his back. "I think I'm ready," he said.   
"Good. Let get to it, then."   
The work was hard. Most of the supplies for the shop included raw iron, steel, copper, charcoal, some barrels of oil and other metals. It was all heavy, but the blacksmith was a kind employer and gave the boy frequent rest breaks. It was close to the supper hour when Master Groning decided to call it a day. He handed the youth a small bag full of coins and sent him on his way.   
"There will be more like that for the next few days."   
"I'll be here first thing in the morning," Copy promised. 

The sun was starting to set as the young man walked home. He was tired, but glad that he was helping out the nice family that he was staying with. There was hardly anyone else on the street as they were all home enjoying their dinners. But there was one person who stood there, looking a little lost.   
Copy decided that he could take a few minutes and help the gentleman out. He was sure that Aunt Tilly would understand his being late.   
The person in question appeared to be a travelling priest. He wore the robes of one at any rate. Copy figured that the guy was probably on a pilgrimage to Sairaag and was wondering where the city went.   
"Can I help you?" he asked the priest.   
"Yes, you probably can," remarked the traveller in an odd sort of amused voice. "I have appeared to have lost my way..." He stopped talking, and opened his eyes wide as if in recognition. Copy could have sworn that there was something wrong with the priest's eyes, but he couldn't really tell with the setting sun. The odd appearing eyes closed again and he smiled. "I'm sorry, you reminded me of someone..."   
"Oh?" asked Copy, a little nervously.   
"But I can see that you're not him," the priest continued. "Anyway, I was looking for the Leyrun Magic Guild. Do you know where it is?"   
"Um, yes..." Copy was getting more and more nervous. "It's down the street that way, about four blocks from here." He pointed in the proper direction. "But I don't think that anyone is there right now..."   
"Hmmm?" the priest seemed to be distracted for a moment. "Oh! Don't worry about it. I'll go and visit there in the morning. Thank-you for your help. Could I have your name, please?"   
"It's Copy."   
"Copy? My, my, what an interesting name... My name is Xelloss," here, the priest bowed, "and I am sure that we will meet again." He turned and walked away.   
"Uh, right." Actually Copy wasn't sure that he wanted to meet the weird priest again. He continued on his way home. 

Master Tomas and his wife were about to sit down to dinner when Copy entered the house.   
"You're late, dear," commented Tilly.   
"Sorry Aunt Tilly... I was giving directions to a priest who was lost."   
"A priest?" asked Master Tomas.   
"Yes sir. He made me nervous though..."   
"In what way?"   
"He said that I reminded him of someone, and that he was looking for the magic guild. I told him that nobody would be there though. He said that he'll go visit the guild tomorrow."   
"Okay, lad. I'm sure that there isn't anything to worry about, but I'll see this priest tomorrow and see if you're at any risk. All right?"   
"Thank-you Master Tomas." Copy felt better already. He took a seat at the table, and dug into the food.   
Normal dinner conversation ensued.   
"How was your day dear?" asked Tilly.   
"Not bad. We haven't started up the chimera projects yet and I think it will be some time before the guild can safely do so. But I figure that it won't hurt the students to double-check the equipment and to go over the theories. But there was some interesting gossip that was going around the staff."   
"Oh?" asked the magician's wife.   
"According to rumour, two demon lords, Gob, the Demon Dragon King and Phibrizzo, the Trickster are both dead."   
"Dead?" asked Tilly.   
"Killed by the infamous Lina Inverse and her companions, I hear."   
Copy looked up from his plate and swallowed his mouthful of food. "Lina did that?" he asked incredulously.   
"Apparently she did according to the rumours," commented the old man. Then he paused for a moment and looked at the young man. "Tell me something lad... You know this Lina Inverse, right? Do you think that it is possible for her to do such a thing?"   
Copy put down his fork for a moment and concentrated on finding an answer to Master Tomas' question. "I don't know..." he started, then he chuckled. "But if I know Lina, if she put her mind to something, it take a whole lot to keep her from doing it." He went serious again. "But two demon lords at once? That would be pretty tough. It was tough enough for her to take out Shabrinigno, and I --I mean _Gourry_ was helping her."   
"You mean to tell me that that undergrown, flat-chested little girl killed Shabrinigno?!?" asked the old wizard incredulously.   
"Well, just one of his forms..." Copy protested weakly.   
"Well, good for her!" commented Tilly. "That girl did us a favour if she got rid of Shabrinigno. Three favours if she killed off the other two as well."   
"Uh, yeah..." commented Master Tomas, not wanting to argue with his wife.   
"Now let's finish eating before the food gets cold."   
Copy had no problems finishing that command. 

* * *

The next two months were uneventful. According to Master Tomas, the priest, Xelloss, never did show up at the guild house, and the whole matter was forgotten in a couple of days.   
The people of Leyrun were coming to accept Copy, but he was careful to keep his origins a complete secret form everyone. He earned money by doing odd jobs around the town. Those positions also included bodyguard and the guarding of valuable goods. He took to keeping his long hair in a braid as it helped keep it out of everything and it helped disguise his similarity to the guy in the wanted posters that was still surfacing from time to time.   
He also went through physical examinations with Mater Tomas and Devin every week. They wanted to make sure that Copy's physical structure was stable and to be able to catch potential problems before they became to big to handle. Fortunately, there were no problems, potential or otherwise.   
There were also many questions and answers that were posed to him. The magician and his apprentice wanted to know if there were psychological differences between him and Gourry. And there were.   
Copy has come to accept that he was definitely not Gourry Gabriev, despite having the memories. He was able, for the most part been able to accept the differences between himself and the man in his memories. The difference in the hair and eye colour was a simple thing to accept, it was the personality quirks that bothered him. Copy has realised, much to his dismay, that he had a temper. Gourry never had a temper, not the type that makes him burst out yelling if he got really pissed off at something. He also found that he was able to lie convincingly. It was necessary for his survival, true, but Gourry would never be able to pull off even the smallest lie as convincingly as Copy has been able to. Those were Lina's traits. He was fortunate that he never found the urge to clobber someone that said anything wrong, or any of those other annoying Lina traits, but the traits he did have were unnerving enough.   
And there was another thing as well. There was an itching at the back of his mind that he couldn't quite figure out. It was kinda like there was something important there and his mental processes are unable to grasp it yet. It bothered him, mostly because he couldn't identify it --yet. But every day seemed to bring him closer to understanding it, whatever it was.   
One sunny day, Copy hired himself as a bodyguard for temple delegation. A group of priests and shrine-maidens were making their way home from a pilgrimage to the Great Tree of Sairaag. Apparently one of the temple maidens was returning to the town that she now called home, after the destruction of the city of Sairaag. Her uncle, who was a bit protective of her, wanted to make sure that she came home safe and sound. Apparently, the uncle has heard rumours about his niece associating with some dangerous characters. Copy didn't quite hear what the name of the maiden was, but a job is a job, and he wanted to make sure that he would be able to help out Master Tomas and Aunt Tilly in anyway that he can.   
He waited by the front entrance of the temple until the group of people within was done.   
"You got a good job, didn't you Copy, my boy?" asked Master Groning on his way to the café for his afternoon tea.   
"A good job, Master Groning?" asked Copy, confused.   
"You get to be the hero-protector of a few lovely shrine-maidens," replied the blacksmith. "I'm willin' to bet that there are many young men who would love to trade places with you right about now..."   
"You think so...?" the young man scratched the back of his head.   
"I know it, boy. I'll catch you later and find out how it all went. See ya!" Master Groning waved and walked away.   
It was a few minutes later that the group that Copy was supposed to protect came out of the temple. The young man went up to them and was going to ask who was in charge when one of the maidens looked in his direction. Copy was certain that he knew her. She broke away and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.   
"Gourry dear! What a surprise! What are you doing here?!? I thought that you were on a quest with uh, the others."   
_Selphiel_, his mind provided for him. _This is Selphiel._ He pushed her gently back and looked at her earnestly.   
"I'm sorry, but you seemed to have mistaken me for someone else."   
"What do you mean?" asked the shrine-maiden. "You must be Gourry."   
"I'm not." Copy was getting flustered.   
"Hey Copy!" called out one of the bystanders, "Why does she think that you're that wanted guy from the posters?"   
"I don't know," stated the young man.   
"Now that I think about it," commented the young woman from the clothes store, "he does look like that Gourry Gabriev from the wanted posters."   
"I'm NOT!" shouted Copy.   
"Kopii?" asked the maiden. "You're a kopii?" Her eyes went wide. "That would explain the different hair and eye colour, I guess..."   
"Uh..." The tall youth didn't know what to say to that.   
"You don't have a girlfriend, do you?" she asked eagerly.   
Copy face-faulted. His hands went into the o-yakusoku position.   
"You're a kopii?" asked another bystander. "Wasn't it a kopii that destroyed Sairaag?"   
A low murmur could be heard throughout the crowd.   
"Wait!!!" shouted Copy. "It's not like that! I'M not like that!"   
"So you are a kopii!" yelled another person. A growl went through the crowd, and it advanced upon him.   
"What are you doing?!?" Selphiel asked the crowd in an alarmed voice.   
"We don't want no kopiis in Leyrun!" shouted another nameless face in the crowd. They continued their advancement.   
Suddenly, Master Groning, the blacksmith was there, holding a huge axe, another one of his masterpieces. He growled at the mob, which halted for a moment, fearful of the huge, grizzled, angry, scary man.   
"RUN BOY!!!" he yelled at Copy. "I'll hold 'em off!" Then he turned back to the crowd.   
Leaving the big man and Selphiel behind, Copy followed the advice and made a run for it. Not knowing where else to go, he went for the guild house.   
"Master Tomas!" he shouted once he was in the front door. Various students and teachers poked their heads out of the various classrooms. "Where's Master Tomas?!?" he asked them all.   
"Copy?" said a soft voice, and Devin came out of another room. "What's wrong? Why are you panicking?"   
"Devin! Where's Master Tomas?!? I gotta see him, RIGHT NOW!!!"   
"Easy lad, no need to shout," said the old wizard as he came out of his office. "Now what's all the fuss about?"   
"They know about me. They're after me. They want to kill me..."   
"Whoa! Easy lad. Who is this 'they' that you're talking about?"   
"The townspeople. They know that I am a kopii, and they're coming after me."   
Ever so calmly, the old man blinked, and rubbed his forehead. "I see," he said. He looked around at the students crowding the doorways. "GET BACK TO CLASS!!!" he roared at them. Heads disappeared as if by magic. He then looked to his apprentice and nodded. Devin went into the office.   
"What do we do now?" asked Copy.   
"You're getting out of here, lad. I didn't go through all that trouble of bringing you to life only to see you killed off."   
"Out of here...?" asked Copy confused. "But I thought that Leyrun is my home..."   
Tilly stumbled through the front door at the same time Devin came back out of the office.   
"I heard and I figured that this would have been the first place that the lad would come to," she said as she passed a bundle to her adoptive 'nephew'. "These are blankets, a change of clothes and a snack for the road."   
"Uh, thanks Aunt Tilly..."   
"You just take care of yourself. You understand me, lad?"   
"Yes Aunt Tilly."   
"That's a dear lad." The magician's wife patted him on the cheek.   
Master Tomas cleared his throat. Copy turned his head to face him.   
"Here is something for you." He passed a small pouch full of coins to the young man. "I thought that it would be best to be prepared in case something like this would happen." Copy didn't know what to say, it meant a lot to him though, especially since the old man hated to part with his money.   
"Thanks," he finally managed.   
Devin was keeping watch from the door. "They're coming, Master Tomas!!!" he shouted.   
"So they are." The old wizard stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment. "I can provide you with a distraction, lad. You better make the best of it."   
"Yes sir."   
"I'll find a way to let you know when it will be safe for you again," the old man promised.   
"Yes sir."   
Tilly kissed her nephew on the cheek. "I'm going to miss you, Copy dear."   
"I'll miss you too, Aunt Tilly." Copy would have cried if there was time to do so.   
"No go, lad!" commanded Master Tomas and he pulled a lever on the hallway wall. Huge bells started ringing, alarms were going off, and whistles blew.   
"**FIRE DRILL!!!**" yelled the old man.   
Panic ensued. Students and teachers were running around, forgetting where the exits were. One or two of the more enterprising youngsters took the moment to steal the answers to the exams from their instructors' bags. Copy paused only a moment to look back at his adoptive family before he made good his getaway. He climbed out of a window at the back of the school and ran for the outskirts of town. The sun was starting to set, and his getaway was barely seen by anyone. 

On the roof of the Magic Guild, a wandering priest sat, quietly drinking tea and observing all of the chaos around him. He finished the last drop and willed the empty teacup back into the nothingness that which it came. He chuckled softly to himself. He knew that sending a fake message that was supposedly from her uncle would bring Selphiel home early. And being in the crowd to help 'encourage' the situation was even fun. The priest had no idea that being a common rabble-rouser was so much fun.   
"I told you that we would meet again, Copy," he murmured to the escaping figure. "Just wait until the next time." And following the same route as his cup, the Mazoku priest, Xelloss, disappeared. 

* * *

  
[][2]

_What do you think of the story so far? Please email all C&C's to [nikiparadis@hotmail.com][1]. Thanks for taking the time to read this._

_Illustrations to this story can be found in The Wayfarer's Inn Fanfiction Page .([http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wifanfics.html][3])._   
_Please visit my page: The Wayfarer's Inn ([http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wayfarers.html][4])_

   [1]: mailto:nikiparadis@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/
   [3]: http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wifanfics.html
   [4]: http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wayfarers.html



	2. Getting to Know One Another

_This is chapter two to 'Copy'. All C&C's are welcomed at [nikiparadis@hotmail.com][1]. Please Enjoy..._

##  "Copy"

_(A Slayers Fanfic)_

_By: Niki "NeeP" Paradis_

**_Chapter Two: Getting to Know One Another --and Others..._**

In a smoke filled gambling house, a group of four men sat around a table. They had been sitting almost absolutely still for the past two hours. They were all hunched over their cards and staring at their hands with intense concentration. Almost all of the faces held no expression at all, except one. That young man had a blank look, almost idiotic. You could almost tell that he didn't have a chance of winning except for one thing... He was.   
The young man grinned, flipped his long braid over his shoulder, stood up and slammed his cards onto the table face up.   
"Royal Flush! I win again!"   
A low moan was heard around the table. The crowd surrounding the table cheered.   
Copy scraped the winnings towards him, while thinking about how lucky he was that Devin did manage to teach him poker. He gave a huge smile as he scooped the coins into a pouch.   
"That should be enough for dinner, thanks guys!"   
Low mutters could be heard around the table.   
"I'll see you all later!" Copy picked up his sword from the peg by the door on his way outside. He strapped the belt around his waist and hummed a merry tune that he learned from Aunt Tilly. He waved to the crowd that was watching, and smiled at the young girl who leaned casually against the wall near the door. He paused momentarily as he elbowed a poor loser that was trying to sneak up on him and take his hard won coin.   
"That wasn't very sporting of you," he said conversationally. "I mean, if you weren't prepared to lose the money, maybe you shouldn't have betted it."   
The would-be thief only groaned in reply. Copy turned away and resumed his humming. The man behind him pulled out a dagger and charged towards his victim.   
Swish! Copy pulled out his sword and took a swing at the man. The man jumped back and jeered. "Ha ha! You missed me!"   
"No, I didn't." Copy grinned and re-sheathed his sword.   
The would-be thief's pants fell down around his ankles.   
"Waaaah!" the thug waaaahed in surprise.   
Copy chuckled and walked to the inn that he was staying in for the past two weeks. He took a quick look in the pouch, and then sighed. For a normal person, there was enough money in the pouch for a guy to stay at an expensive inn and eat three high quality meals for three days. But for the young kopii, there was just enough to have one more night of lodging and dinner, providing that he skipped dessert.   
He finally reached the inn and looked at the board that advertised the special of the day. It featured roast beef and a triple layer black-forest cake. Copy drooled as he took another moment to think about his situation. He shrugged and decided that a night on the road wouldn't hurt, but missing the dessert might.   
The serving girl came up to him as soon as he entered. She smiled at him in a way that indicated that he was one of her better customers, and showed him a table immediately.   
"How are you doing today, Mister Copy?" she asked.   
Copy smiled back at her as he sat down. "I'm doing alright, Cynthia."   
"That's great! What can I bring you today?"   
"Hmmm... I think that I will have five portions of that special that you have posted outside, including the black-forest cake."   
The girl grimaced momentarily, then smiled. "Not a problem. Should I tell the innkeeper that you need a room again for tonight?"   
"No thanks. It's about time that I went on my way."   
"Okay. I'll be right back." The girl went up to another waitress that was bussing a table. She told her about Copy's order. The other waitress nodded and gestured towards the kitchen. Cynthia hurried through the doors.   
Copy blinked. He was certain that he had never seen her before --at least in the two weeks that he had been staying at the inn. He watched as she came to clean a table next to his.   
"Hi," he said to her.   
"H'lo." The waitress smiled and went back to her work. She seemed older than Cynthia and she didn't seem to be as talkative as Cynthia was.   
"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked. The waitress, with tray and all turned around to face him. She was fairly tall with chin-length dark hair. Her bangs appeared to cover her eyes, and she had uh, attributes that appeared to be trying to burst out of the top of her uniform. Copy was certain that she looked familiar, but he couldn't place her.   
"Yup," said the waitress. "Sorta. Helping a friend out while other employees are sick."   
"I see."   
"You have a big order," the waitress continued. "Might be awhile before Cynthia comes with it. Will need help as it is. You a good tipper?"   
"Yeah. It's only fair. I mean, especially after the effort it takes for a person to bring food out, especially the amount that I eat."   
"Good," the waitress nodded. "It's nice to know that a guy can appreciate what a waitress goes through. Not many do." Copy had the feeling that such a sentence was longer than the waitress was used to. Not that she was stupid either. It seemed that she was trying to use as few words as possible in her conversation. She smiled at him again. "Be right back. Gonna go check on the meal." She went through the doors leading to the kitchen.   
Soon, Cynthia and the other waitress came out with the first of the dishes for Copy's meal. They set the dishes down and went to get the others. Copy didn't wait. He set into the first plate of roast as soon as it hit the table. When the women came the second time to the table with the rest of the meal, Copy had managed to finish the first two servings of everything but the cake.   
"This is great!" he told the two women. "You have to give my compliments to the chef."   
"Sure thing, Mister Copy," beamed the younger waitress.   
"Will do," agreed the elder one.   
Soon the meal was done and the elder waitress came to him with a bill. Dishes were stacked high on the table and the other customers were trying to stare discretely. Cynthia was returning with a tray to start taking the dishes away. There were no other remains of the huge meal and the young waitress could only shake her head in wonder. The other waitress could only smile at the young man.   
"You eat like my younger sister," she commented. "Only not as much."   
Copy chuckled. "There's not many who can eat like me, I think."   
A moment of silence followed. Then...   
"I like you," commented the busty waitress.   
"You're a really nice person," said the kopii. "My name is Copy."   
The other waitress smiled. "Pleased to meetcha! My name is Luna." 

* * *

Lina Inverse was staring gloomily at a piece of ancient manuscript that she had found during a raid of a bandit's camp. She was certain that the ancient writing translated into something about 'Idol' and 'Infinite Magic', but other than that, she really couldn't make heads or tails of it.   
"Lina?" Gourry Gabriev sat down at the table. "Are you still staring at that piece of paper? You really should take a break."   
Lina looked up at her 'protector' and sighed. "I can't, Gourry. I have to figure this out."   
"But you have been looking at that scrap of paper for over three days..."   
"I know that, Gourry. But..."   
Gourry shook his head. "Here. Try this." He shoved something under Lina's nose. She took the proffered food item dubiously.   
"What's this?" she asked.   
"Local speciality. They call it a 'Shish-ka-bob'. It's pretty good. And I brought lots." He gestured to a large covered basket under his arm. Lina took a taste of her shish-ka-bob. Her eyes widened and she swallowed the rest of it in a gulp.   
"You're right, Gourry! This really IS good! Gimme another --five."   
"I knew that you'd like them," said Gourry as he handed over five more of the delicacies. "But I understand that you're supposed to eat them off of the stick, not eat the stick along with it."   
Lina had already crunched her way through the second shish-ka-bob. She looked thoughtful. "Hmmm. I guess that would explain the crunchy middle," she said.   
"..."   
The two wanderers ate the rest of their snack in silence. After the last of the shish-ka-bob was eaten, Gourry leaned over to look at Lina's manuscript.   
"What have you figured out so far?" he asked. Lina looked at Gourry, sighed, and then brushed the remaining bamboo sticks to the side as she spread her sheet out. She pointed out the various symbols as she explained what they meant.   
"This symbol here represents the Lord of Chaos." Lina planted her finger directly on the fanciest of the runes. "This one is 'Idol'. And this one translates into 'infinite power'. So this manuscript tells of a grail of infinite power of some type and it relates to the Lord of Chaos. You follow me for once, Gourry?"   
"Sure Lina, I think so. But I have a question."   
"Yeah? What?"   
"What exactly are we after again?"   
After mashing the swordsman into the ground, Lina took a deep breath, counted to 21, and then released it.   
"Listen, jellyfish-brains. We are going after one of the most powerful items in the land. When I --I mean WE get to it, WE will become rich and famous."   
Gourry peeled himself off of the ground. He brushed himself off and looked quizzically at Lina. "What for?" he asked. "I don't need to be rich and famous. What would I do with money and fame?"   
Lina was more than a little surprised. She actually heard an intelligent philosophical question from Gourry. She looked up at the sky to make sure that sky wasn't falling too. Relieved that it wasn't, she decided to respond to his question.   
"Why else would we go on these great quests? What else is there but fame and fortune?" she asked.   
Gourry actually took a moment to think of a reply. Lina watched as smoke started to come out of his ears. He sat back down at the table and rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger.   
"I'm in it for the adventure, I guess," he said. "I don't need money or fame. Fame gets you into more trouble than you need and I just need enough money to buy food to eat. Give me a full stomach and I'm happy."   
Lina nodded. "I guess I can see it like that... sorta."   
"And besides, I promised to protect you and that usually leads into a LOT of adventure."   
Lina gulped. "You still remember that?!?"   
"Yeah."   
They looked at each other in silence, which seemed to stretch on forever. Gourry coughed uncomfortably.   
"I'm gonna look for desert," he mumbled as he got up from the table.   
"Right," replied Lina as she returned her attention to the scrap of manuscript. 

* * *

Later on, as Copy left the inn and started to head for the road out of town, he became aware of a presence following him. He looked behind but wasn't surprised that he couldn't see anyone. He had just used most of the money that he had left to purchase apples, and dried beef for the road, so he didn't think that he was any real temptation for thieves. But he remembered the very disgruntled gamblers and decided that it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. He shrugged and continued on, re-shouldering his pack and discretely loosening the straps that bound his sword. 

In the shadows of an alley, one lone thief looked towards her mark. She knew that the tall guy with the braid had to have lots of money on his person. After all, she saw him leave the gambling house and go into the inn and back out again. It wouldn't be as if he had eaten all of his winnings. She left the alley and followed the tall youth from a discreet distance. She watched him stiffen a couple of times as if he was aware of someone following him, but she always took cover when he looked around.   
She managed to get closer, without him catching on, or so it seemed. She waited until they were both in a large crowd before she made her move. She reached over...   
And came face to face with the business end of a very sharp looking sword.   
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."   
The young woman looked up the length of the sword and into the face of the person that she was going to rob. She froze and tried her best to look innocent. "I have no idea what you are talking about, sir..." she started.   
"Yes, you do," said the young man patiently. "Besides, I don't have that much money."   
The girl narrowed her eyes. "Yes, you do!" she argued. "You won it all this afternoon in that gambling hall."   
The young man blinked. "I thought you looked familiar. You're that girl from the hall!" the tension left his sword arm and the young thief relaxed a bit.   
"Um, yeah. So you KNOW that I know that you have money!"   
"Uh..." The young man looked abashed. "Not anymore."   
"What do you mean?!? Not any more?!?" The girl's voice started to rise in pitch and volume.   
"Well, I bought myself some supper..."   
"And it cost you all that?!?"   
"Well, after the five helpings of roast beef and dessert and the fact that I kinda cleaned out the larder, it was only fair that I tipped big."   
"You're kidding! Right?"   
She heard a murmur and she glanced around. A large crowd gathered around the two of them. It was only then that the young thief realised that they both looked ridiculous with her arm frozen in the motion of trying to reach the pouch and the sword of the young man still at her throat and both of them arguing. Apparently the young man noticed it too, and he looked embarrassed. At the same time, they both went into a more natural stance. She pulled her arm away, and he sheathed his sword. The tall youth cleared his throat.   
"Nope, I'm not kidding. Sorry to disappoint you." With that, he walked off to wards the edge of town.   
The girl watched him walk away. But only for a moment.   
"Hey! Wait up!" she called as she chased after him.   
She caught up to him just as he reached the bridge that led out of town. The young man looked over his shoulder at her with mild curiosity. They walked on in silence for a few moments.   
"Why are you following me?" he asked her finally.   
The girl blinked at the question. "I, I really don't know," she said finally.   
"Don't you have a home to go back to?"   
"Nope. I live on the streets, or stay at an inn when I can afford it."   
The young man looked thoughtful. "It must be difficult," he said.   
"Nah," she said with as much forced cheerfulness as she could muster.   
He said nothing.   
"My name is Kitsuan. Kitsuan Catalyn."   
"Mine's Copy."   
The girl looked up at him. He was really tall.   
"Copy?" she asked. "No last name?"   
"Nope."   
"Oh. Well then, are you an orphan like me?"   
"Sort of," he replied. The town was now just a glow of lights in the twilight. Copy looked again at Kitsuan. "Did you plan on leaving the village?" he asked her.   
"Not really, but it's all right. I was planning on leaving soon anyway. And I rather be travelling with someone than by myself."   
"But why me?"   
"Because you're quick with a sword, you don't seem to have a huge 'thing' against thieves, and because you're kinda interesting."   
"Interesting?"   
"You win a huge sum of money and now you don't have anything to show for it. You can slice the belts off of drunken losers without hurting them, and you are on the road with an interesting story to tell."   
"Really?"   
"Yep."   
"But what makes you think that I want to tell my story?" he asked.   
"I just do. If not now, then later." 

* * *

Zelgadis Greywords paused in the shade of a huge tree and casually studied the scrap of paper in his hands. It was about the twelfth time he has done so since he woke up. The old manuscript told of an ancient idol desecrated to the Lord of Chaos that was supposed to grant wishes. He didn't know whether or not that it held the answer to his problem, but he figured that it was the best lead he got for the last couple of months since leaving the others. Then he thought about what the others might be doing right at the moment.   
_ Lina and Gourry are probably off raiding bandit's dens again. And Amelia is probably off fulfilling her royal duties._ He smiled. He figured that they have their own lives to lead and that he should be off finding his cure so that he could finally continue with his own life.   
He turned his attention back to the old piece of paper. He grunted in frustration. The little piece that he got hinted towards what kind of monsters are guarding the 'treasure', but nothing about where it is. He was almost tempted to look up Lina and ask for her help. But then he shook his head, realising that he was NOT ready for another wild goose chase involving powerful demons and other enemies.   
_Besides, I really ought to do this on my own_, he thought to himself. _There's no reason to drag anyone else into my problems._   
He was on his way to Seyroon to visit the libraries and archives. He figured that there might be references on the Idol of Chaos, and/or he might be able to find a way to translate some of the runes that he did not quite understand. He was certain that he would be able to obtain permission from Prince Phillanel to enter the more obscure sections that would otherwise be closed to the public. That might mean meeting up with the over-exuberant Princess Amelia, but there were rare times where Zel would gladly bear with the company of Amelia Wil-Tesla de Seyroon over the hot headedness of Lina Inverse and the empty-headedness of her 'protector', Gourry Gabriev. _ Those two are simply crazy_, he had concluded long ago.   
He shook his head and headed back out on the road. 

* * *

Copy and Kitsuan had stopped to set up camp for the night. They sat around the campfire, eating the fruit that the young man brought along. They were both quite exhausted and they were having trouble staying awake. Finally, Copy banked the fire and gave Kitsuan a blanket from his pack.   
"Here. You can use this tonight. Okay?"   
"Um, thanks." Kitsuan was startled by the generosity of the man she had attempted to rob earlier. _Why is he so nice?_ she wondered.   
"And just so you know, I'm a really light sleeper and a great tracker, so don't get any ideas about robbing me while I sleep. Okay?"   
"I wasn't!" protested the young thief. _Or at least I'm not any more_, she thought.   
"Good. At least we got that settled. Sleep well, okay?"   
Kit couldn't sleep as she tried to figure out the young man who was so nice to her. 

Morning came soon enough and Kitsuan woke up and found Copy packing up his few things. It was the first time that she had seen him clearly in daylight and as a person rather than a target.   
He was quite tall and rather lanky. Long strawberry-blonde hair was secured into a braid that reached the small of his back. Lavender eyes were framed with long lashes and placed in a thin long face. Long heavy bangs obscured some of his features. He was wearing a light blue peasant shirt and dark leggings that contrasted oddly with the sword strapped to his side. His face was presently wearing a rather blank look, as if he didn't have a care in the world.   
She decided that he was rather pretty, in a dumb sort of way.   
"Sleep well?" he asked her as soon as he noticed that she was awake. "I noticed that you're still here though."   
Kitsuan yawned before answering. "What's that s'pose to mean?" she asked.   
"You didn't take off. I kinda expected that you would have."   
"Thanks a lot." 

Copy returned the glare of the young thief with a blank look. He figured that there was no reason to respond to her sarcastic reply. She turned away and got up, folding the blanket that she was using. She appeared to be about fourteen years old, with chin length brown hair with shaggy bangs. Her large brown eyes were situated in a round face, making her look rather innocent. She was wearing a green tunic over a white shirt and darker green hose. She had a sheathed dagger secured to her thigh, and the way that she moved suggested that she was comfortable with it.   
He decided that she was kind of cute, in a deadly sort of way.   
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not really a suspicious person. It's just that I was under the understanding that a thief would do anything for money."   
"Hey! Listen here, pal. I'm not that kind of girl. I have my standards!" The face of the young thief went red and her voice raised a notch in volume.   
Copy was confused. "Sorry? Did I say something wrong? I meant that you had a chance to grab my money and run, and you didn't take it. I just figured that most thieves would have."   
Kitsuan's face went even redder.   
"You mean to tell me that I'm not allowed to decide that I don't want to steal?!? That's awfully biased. I mean, how many thieves DO you know?!?"   
"Um, I think that you're the first..." Copy started uncertainly.   
"And you don't even know me!!! We just met last night, remember?!?" she was almost hysterical.   
"I'm sorry," said the young man at last.   
"What?"   
"I'm sorry. You're right. I should have just judged you like that. Can you forgive me?" He looked ashamed of himself.   
Kit blinked. No one has ever apologised to her before. No one has ever really thought that she was worth apologising for. A thief was usually considered to be very low on the social ladder.   
"Um, okay. I forgive you. You just didn't know any better."   
Copy brightened immediately. "Thanks," he said sheepishly. "I hate to lose a travelling companion, especially one that I like."   
"You like me?" asked the young girl in surprise.   
"Yeah, I believe I do. Do you like me?"   
"I think I do." She chuckled. "But I guess that you DO have a little problem with my being a thief, right?"   
"Maybe a little," Copy shrugged, "but I trust you enough not to steal form me, so it's okay."   
"Great! I think..."   
Copy handed her one of the remaining apples. "I think we better get going, alright?" 

* * *

Gourry was following Lina listlessly down the road. "Can you tell me why we're heading towards Seyroon again?" he asked.   
Lina took a deep breath before she told Gourry again for the umpteenth time. "To take a look in the Royal Library, numbskull! There's ought to be some information about this Chaos Idol thing, and I want to look it up."   
"What makes you think that you'll find something in there?"   
"There's a lot of old lore and legends stored in the Royal Library. I'm sure that Phil will let us poke around in there for a bit."   
"We're not going to visit Amelia?" he asked dumbfoundedly.   
Lina looked thoughtful. "Well..." she began. "If we happen to bump into her, I guess we can visit. But then again, it would be a shame to miss the banquet that she would definitely put out in honour of her friends, right?"   
"I guess... The food's always nice, but I thought we could visit just for the sake of visiting."   
"Yeah, sure, whatever. We'll see what happens." 

* * *

Copy and Kitsuan had stopped by the side of a river, under the shade of some trees to catch fish for lunch. Not twenty minutes have passed and they already had a pile of fish that reached up to the young thief's waist.   
"Don't you think we have enough yet?" she asked her companion.   
"Nope. Not yet. There should be enough for you to eat as well."   
"You mean to tell me that you plan on eating all of this fish?!?"   
"I know that it's not much, but I find it uncomfortable travelling on an overly full stomach."   
"Right." Kitsuan shook her head in disbelief. "You finish catching what you want, then. I'm gonna go look for firewood to cook 'em with. Okay?"   
"Alright! And Kit?"   
"Yeah?"   
"Be careful out there. Bandits tend to live in the woods."   
"I will." Kitsuan was touched that he would be concerned over her. But he didn't seem to grasp that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She has been doing it most of her life at any rate.   
By the time she came back with enough firewood, Copy had scaled and spitted most of the fist on green twigs. He had managed to clear a suitable amount of space for a fire.   
"Hurry up, Kit! I'm getting hungry!"   
Quickly, the fire was laid and started, with the fish propped up over it. While waiting for their supper to cook, Kitsuan decided to ask Copy a few questions, hoping to get his story out of him.   
"What do you do for a living?" she asked him.   
Copy looked thoughtful. "I guess that I'm kind of a mercenary," he replied. "You know what I mean, right? A sword for hire and doing odd jobs."   
"Really? You don't look the part."   
"What do you mean?" He reached over to check on the fish. A tiny nibble told him to put it back over the fire.   
"You don't look, umm, hard enough." She looked at her travelling companion pointedly. "You wear peasant clothes, and a braid. You look way too pretty for the job."   
"Pretty?!?" Copy looked insulted. "I'll let you know that I am more than capable of the job. I can prove it right now if you want..." He looked at the fish. "I mean after supper, that is."   
Kitsuan nodded. "You're on, pretty-boy. After dinner." 

"This is NOT what I had in mind," grumbled Kitsuan as she crouched in the bushes near the cave where the local bandit gang lived and stashed their loot. It was late in the night, and the huge campfire on the commons provided the only light available. It highlighted the bandits easily enough, while hiding herself and Copy in the shadows. There were only two men on guard that she could see, and they were tossing a game of dice, and drinking from a wineskin.   
"Quit complaining, Kit. You wanted me to prove myself, remember? How else do I do it?" Copy simply crouched in waiting.   
"Um, a simple demonstration would have done."   
"But this is much more effective."   
"But I really can't do this. 'Honour among thieves', remember?"   
"But they're thieves. And I know that rival bands fight amongst themselves all of the time."   
"Yeah, so?" Kitsuan watched as the men guarding the camp passed the wineskin back and forth.   
"The way I see it," said Copy philosophically," is that thieves and mercenaries usually fend for themselves."   
"Isn't that a bit against your ideas of 'stealing is wrong'?"   
He looked startled. He thought about it. "I think," Copy began, "that since the stuff is already stolen, we can't possibly be stealing it. And besides, if there are things that rewards are being offered for, then we will return them."   
Kitsuan sweat-dropped. "I think your morals are messed up," she suggested.   
"I'll figure it out later," he assured her. He then casually reached out and punched one of the guards unconscious.   
The other guard was about to cry out for help once he saw his buddy go down, but a quick backhand from Copy sent him flying.   
"Aren't you gonna kill them?" asked Kitsuan.   
"Not unless they try to kill me first," answered the tall young man. "Then it's anything goes."   
"Sounds fair enough." Kit drew out her short blade.   
"How good are you with that thing?" asked Copy as they crept across the commons towards the main cave.   
"Good enough," answered the thief. "Let's just get this over with," she muttered.   
"But I am supposed to prove my skill to you." Copy's voice raised a little. "You said so, and I promised."   
"Be quiet already, Copy!" growled Kitsuan in a voice that was a little louder than it should have been.   
"Who goes there?" demanded a gruff voice.   
A scarred face poked out of the opening of the cave. The bandit looked the two trespassers up and down. He raised an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked.   
"New recruits?" squeaked Kitsuan.   
"New recruits my bunions!" growled the scarred man. "Hey Boss! We got trespassers!"   
"Oh?" asked a lazy sounding voice. "Just kill them and get it over with. We don't have time for interrogations."   
"If you say so, boss." The bandit looked to his cronies. "You heard him, boys! Let's kill 'em!"   
Copy drew his sword. He looked to Kitsuan.   
"See, Kit? They threatened me. Now, I can kill them," he said simply and loud enough for the bandits to hear.   
"I wonder about you," muttered the young girl as she readied her blade. "You're just strange."   
The whole gang of bandits charged at the two interlopers.   
The odds of the battle were awkward, 30:2, but it was no reason for Kit or Copy to feel sorry for the bad guys. Copy was skilled with his long sword and Kitsuan was skilled with her short blade. He slashed and dodged in a graceful manner and she went and cut hamstrings, and dashed in and out of her opponents reached. The fight was over in just a bit. Bodies lay around them, either unconscious or dead. The victorious duo stood in front of the leader, a large burley man in noble's ruffles and lace. His face was white with fear.   
Copy blinked.   
"Hey, are you the guy who tried to jump me back in town yesterday?"   
The head thug's eyes narrowed in replied.   
Copy shook his head. "With all of this stuff that you already have stolen, you had to rob me, a guy who won fair and square?"   
There was no reply.   
"Why don't we just kill him and go, Copy?" asked Kit.   
"He hasn't threatened me yet." The tall youth looked thoughtful. "Although... I really don't want him in the way at the moment." He raised his sword up, and the big man whimpered.   
Copy brought the pommel of the sword down on the man's head. The thug went out like a light.   
"Now, let's get us some of that treasure and go get something to eat!" he suggested to his friend.   
Kitsuan had no problem agreeing to that. 

In an inn in the next town, a tall woman with long dark hair and an encredibly huge bosom sat at a bar drinking and giggling to herself. She wore nothing more than a bikini made of leather and a long cape. The other patrons of the inn were giving the woman enough space to be by herself. She didn't notice or didn't care that the people were avoiding her. She didn't really noticed when two conspicuous people walked in and up to the bar. At least not until she heard the solid clank of a bag of gold hitting the countertop.   
"Hey!" shouted a young female voice. "We defeated a bandit gang and we're hungry! We want food!"   
"Make that 'lots and lots of food'," chimed in a light male voice.   
The woman looked up. There was a young girl standing at the counter with a tall young man with a long strawberry blonde braid. She paid them the barest glance as she was focusing on the heavy bag of gold that they had just set on the table.   
"And I really mean 'lots'!" said the young man.   
"Let's start with menus," suggested the young girl, elbowing her companion in the ribs.   
"Good idea..." The young man looked thoughtful.   
The serving girl showed the two newcomers to a table. They sat down and opened their menus. The woman at the bar stared longingly at the bag that clinked when moved. She watched as the tall young man opened the menu and pointed out his selection to the waitress. The young girl's eyes opened wide as she overheard what her companion has just ordered. The waitress just about fell over.   
The woman laughed as she watched the scene. Many of the near-by customers cringed. She figured that the serving girl was just in shock from having to serve more than one person that much food in a night. _She'll get over it_, she thought. She focused he blurry eyes again on the bag of gold. _There's got to be a way that I can get my hands on that_. Her fuzzy vision travelled from the bag to the sword that the young man was wearing to the dagger that the young girl was wearing. _But it can't be a simple grab and run. They both look like they know how to use those weapons._ She downed another mug of ale while she thought. She watched as the waitress brought out the first of the appetisers, and at the young man who started to devour them. _ I have to come up with a plan..._   
It wasn't until the strangers have nearly finished their meal and she had managed to down her twentieth mug of ale since the two came in before she managed to come up with one. 

Kitsuan was dumbfounded.   
"I can't believe that you ate all that," she said.   
"I got a healthy appetite," grinned the young man.   
"I swear that no human being can eat that much and still be skinny!!! How do you do it?!?"   
"Um, I dunno. Good metabolism?" he shrugged as he tidied up a place on the table.   
"I don't believe you!" she muttered. "No wonder you were so broke when I tried to steal from you."   
The waitress came out to clear the dirty dishes and to wipe the table clean of spills, then she returned to the kitchen. A few minutes later, the kitchen opened again as the waitress returned to them with the piece de resistance.   
Copy was practically drooling as the first huge dish of dessert reached the table. As soon as it landed, he reached over and helped himself to generous portions.   
"Aren't you gonna have any, Kit?" he asked.   
"I have to watch my figure," muttered the young thief.   
"Are you sure?" he asked again as he gestured to the triple layer chocolate fudge cake. Kitsuan looked at the tooth-rotting, mouth-watering dessert.   
"I can't," she mumbled. Then she looked at the cake again...   
_EAT ME... _commanded the cake.   
"I really shouldn't," she muttered.   
"Did you say something, Kit?" asked Copy with his mouth full.   
"I think I just heard the cake telling me to eat it."   
"Oh?" Copy looked at his friend.   
"I think I'm going crazy..." Kitsuan felt awful.   
"Nah. I think it's just because your blood sugar level is low. Eat some cake and you'll probably feel better."   
Kitsuan reached for the cake. "Maybe you're right."   
"Speaking of crazy," Copy gestured with his fork. "Did you see that lady at the bar? She's one bonafide loony, if you ask me."   
Kit looked towards the bar. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said with her mouth full. "She's been watching us since we got here too. I wonder what she wants."   
"We can ask if you want, but not until we finish this other cake, okay?" He cleared room for the second cake.   
As soon as the cake was on the table, both Kitsuan and Copy dug right into it. It wasn't until they came up for air when they noticed that the crazy woman from the bar was standing at their table.   
"I have a proposition for you," she challenged the young man, obviously believing that he was in charge.   
"Hey!" countered the young thief. "Copy's not that kinda guy, you floozy! Go away!"   
If the woman's face wasn't already red from the drink, she probably would have blushed.   
"Not that kind of proposition!" the tall woman nearly shouted. Then she looked thoughtful. "Not this time at any rate... Ho ho ho ho ho..."   
Kitsuan winced at the sound of the laughter.   
"Just hang on for a second," said Copy through his mouthful of cake, oblivious to the tall woman's comment. "I wanna finish this first!"   
The woman crossed her arms over her impressive chest and waited patiently until the cake was done. After the waitress cleared away the last of the dishes, the woman placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. The position was supposed to distract Copy, and it seemed to work to a degree.   
"I understand that you two have busted up the Blue Tooth Bandit gang today, right?" she purred.   
Copy wrenched his gaze from the Grand Canyon presented beneath his nose to the slightly ruddy face above it.   
"Yeah," he began.   
Kit slammed her elbow into her companion's ribs. She decided that she really didn't like this woman.   
"So what that we did? What about it?" she challenged.   
"Well, you see," started the woman, without the slur that one would expect o person that have been drinking heavily to have, "I was planning to clean them out tomorrow. So the way I see it, you two owe me. So pay up!"   
"Say, what?!?" yelped Copy.   
"You?!?" demanded Kitsuan.   
"Yes, I!"   
"Who the hell are you anyway?" asked the young thief to the woman.   
"I am the beauteous master Sorceress, Naga, the White Serpent! Ho ho ho ho ho ho! No doubt you have heard of me...?"   
"Nope." Copy shook his head.   
"Not a clue." Kitsuan shrugged.   
The woman seemed to wilt. Then she stood up straight.   
"Here is my challenge," she delivered in a haughty voice. "I am willing to bet all of you gold that you cannot drink me under the table."   
"Drink?" asked Copy in a confused voice.   
"Yeah! Or don't you think you can handle it, pretty boy?"   
Kitsuan looked towards her friend. She remembered what had happened when she challenged Copy the day before and called him a 'pretty boy'. The gold's nice and all, but she didn't like the risk it took. His fist was clenched and trembling.   
"You're on!"   
"Wait!!!" cried out the young thief. "What are you going to bet?" she asked the tall woman. "What will we get if we win?"   
"Um..." Naga the White Serpent looked uncertain, as if she had never thought about that little detail. Then her face brightened and she reached into her leather brassier and pulled out a gold medallion. "This!" she said, slapping it onto the tabletop.   
"What is it?" asked Copy. "There's no way that that thing is worth the bag of gold."   
"It's a key to finding one of the most mysterious treasures in the land. Are you two up to it?" The woman looked smug.   
"Yeah, right," the young girl said skeptically.   
"Well, Kit," interupted the young man. "Why not? It'll be fun."   
"You're not gonna cheat, are you?" asked Kit. Naga looked at her.   
"You remind me of my sister," she muttered. Then, "No, I won't cheat. In fact, you two have an advantage. There's two of you and I have already been drinking for most of the night. So, come on. What do you say?"   
"I'm game!" said Copy. "Who's buying the first round?"   
"I will," replied Naga. "You can buy the next round. Then your friend can buy the round after."   
"Nuh-uh," said Kitsuan. "I'm only fourteen. I'm too young to buy alcohol."   
Naga shrugged. "Whatever." Then she called out to the barkeeper. "Hey! Three mugs of ale! Put it on my tab!"   
"Wait a minute!" called back the barkeep. "That girl ain't old enough to drink!"   
"You mean that she isn't old enough to buy," retorted Naga. "She's definitely old enough to drink though."   
"We'll keep an eye on her," offered Copy.   
The man shook his head, yet poured the drinks. The waitress brought them over. She gave the trio a nasty look as set them down.   
"Bonzai!" cheered Naga and she downed her ale in one gulp. Copy had his down shortly after. Kitsuan choked a little as she swallowed hers. But once it was down, she felt a little better.   
"That wasn't so bad..." she said, proud of herself.   
"Hey!" cried out Copy. "Can we have another round here?"   
The waitress brought over the drinks and they too went down. After the second mug, Kit definitely felt better.   
"And another!" called out Naga.   
"This is kinda weird," commented Copy. "Here we are, matching drink to drink with you, and you don't even know our names."   
"Ask me if I care," commented Naga as she downed another drink.   
Copy finished his fourth mug. "I'm Copy."   
"Pleased to meetcha," mumbled the tall woman.   
"This is Kitsuan Catalyn." Kit waved idly as she gulped from her mug.   
"Pleased to meet you too, I guess..." replied the woman. "I'm still Naga."   
The fifth mug went down even easier. Kitsuan felt really great. The stuff in the mug just might be bitter, but the more she drank of it, the more she liked it, and the better she felt. But then she looked towards the tall woman and realised that she didn't look any more drunk than she did when she and Copy entered earlier. _ This might be a problem_, she thought to herself. She tried to shake her head to sobriety. She and Copy did a hard job, busting heads, and there was no way that she was about to lose her hard won bag of gold over a few drinks.   
"Another!" called out Copy. He didn't sound particularly drunk, but there was glossiness to his eyes, that Kit was certain weren't there before the last drink.   
_He doesn't have a chance_, she thought. _Nor do I_. She hardly ever drank before that night and she KNEW that she didn't have the necessary stamina, and now she was starting to doubt that Copy had it either. She eased up, trying to slow down the consumption.   
"You're slowing up, Kit," challenged Copy. "We can't let her win." His voice was just starting to show a bit of a slur.   
"You're drunk," mumbled the young thief. Then she burped. "But then, so am I..." She hook her head again, trying to remember something important. She started to check her pockets, hoping that she could find a clue to whatever it was that she was trying to remember. She found a small knife, a string of wooden beads, and a paper packet of some type. She tried to remember what was in the packet. Then it came to her with a splurge of inspiration.   
Sleeping powder.   
It was leftover from an attempt to drug a prosperous merchant and rob him blind. The powder worked and the old man slept, but the guards who were protecting him kind of prevented her from finishing the job. But now, she has another purpose for it.   
Naga and Copy were still matching mug for mug. Copy was obviously drunk and Naga was starting to slur. But it was still obvious to who was going to win the competition and take the gold --unless she helped out.   
But it took some slight of hand and a perfect moment. Then she got an idea.   
"Why not we go easy on the waitress?" she suggested. "I'm obviously out of the running, and I'm sure that she could use a break. I'll go get the next round. Okay?"   
"Okay, Kit."   
"Whatever."   
So Kit carefully picked her way across the almost empty floor. If it were anyone else, that person would have fallen by now. But with the nimbleness of a thief, Kitsuan had no real problem. She reached the bar, picked up the tray of drinks, and poured some of the powder into one of the mugs. She looked around to see if anyone were watching. But Copy and Naga were both into their cups, pretty much unaware of what was going on around them. She grinned to herself and managed to carry the mugs back to the table. She gave the tainted mug to Naga and the good one to Copy. It seemed that there were no problems.   
"I want that mug," said Naga, pointing to Copy's.   
"Why that mug?" asked the young thief.   
"It looks fuller."   
"No," replied Copy. "This is MY mug. You got your own."   
"You can have the fuller mug the next round, okay?" suggested the young thief.   
The well built sorceress' eyes narrowed. Kit was afraid that she was going to protest anyway.   
"Alright," she said in a pouty voice. "Just this once." She picked up her mug and swallowed. "Now go get some more!" she commanded.   
"Yes'm," said Kit as she headed back to the bar. She got two more mugs and returned to the table, nearly tripping on something lying in the middle of the floor. She looked down, and found Naga unconscious, and starting to snore. She set the tray down and looked at Copy. "I think we won," she said.   
"Yeah," said Copy in a slurred voice. "She was a hot-looking woman, but she sure couldn't hold her drink, could she?"   
Kit debated about telling her friend the truth, then decided not to.   
"Yeah. Sure Copy," she replied vaguely.   
"Si... sit down and celebrate with me, Kit..." offered the tall young man. Kit sat down, and pulled a mug towards her.   
"Here's to the winners!" she cheered, as she downed the contents.   
The little bit of sobriety that Kitsuan had recently repossessed went out the window after that drink. And she didn't miss it one bit. She wondered about Copy though, who was starting to mumble to himself as if he was depressed.   
"It's s'not like som'thin' that Gourry would do..." he mumbled to himself. "Don' think that its som'thin' that Lina would do either... What's wrong with me...?"   
"Something wrong, Copy?" asked Kit in a slurred, yet concerned voice. "Who's this 'Gourry' that you speak of?"   
"Um, just some guy that I'm s'pose to be a kopii of..." mumbled the young man.   
Kit was a little startled, but too drunk to get excited about it.   
"You're a kopii?" she asked.   
"Yeah, sorta."   
"How can you be 'sorta' a kopii?"   
"I'm not exact." Copy sighed. "Apparently, according to Master Thomas, I'm only a kopii of a swordsman named Gourry Gabriev, never mind that I have his memories. And not just him. I got something that comes from a sorceress named Lina Inverse in me too. Some of her hair was mixed in with Gourry's when Master Tomas made me." Copy's head slumped onto his arms.   
"You don't look like what I imagine what a kopii should look like..." commented Kit. "I heard so many bad things about kopiis and you don't seem like that at all."   
Copy groaned. "That's what I keep telling the people who want to kill me because I am a kopii. I've been on the run for about two months now." He sighed. "I just want it to stop..."   
Kitsuan reached over and patted him on the arm. "I know what you mean, Copy."   
"Yeah, right."   
"I do. You're not the only one with secrets." She sighed, then continued in a low voice. "When I was about six, my father was murdered by some unknown assassin. I think he had many enemies, and a lot of them wanted him dead. I remember him pushing me out of the way..." Her voice went even softer. "I saw the knife go into his back... I remember hiding --for days, then weeks." I never even got to go to his funeral."   
"Um..." Copy didn't know what to say.   
"I was sorta adopted by the local street gang, and learned how to steal to survive. And so continued until I met you."   
"Until you met me?"   
"Yeah. But don't get me wrong. I'm still a thief, but busting up that gang, that's one of the first times I did something else to get money."   
"Oh."   
"One day, I will find out who killed my father and take my revenge. But until then, I can't even let anyone know that I am still alive, especially my father's enemies, or else they will send someone after me." Kit sighed. "And that's my story."   
"Oh." Copy looked around, at the near empty common room, and at the unconscious Naga still on the floor. "I think we better turn in for the night Kit. Okay?"   
"Yeah, sure."   
They got up, and started to head out to where the stairs leading to the rooms were. Kitsuan paused, reached down and removed the medallion from the still sleeping form of Naga, the White Serpent.   
"We've won this," she said.   
Copy nodded and continued on.   
Then Kit reached down and removed a small bag of money from the leather brassier, while her friend wasn't looking.   
"And I think we deserve this, you underdressed hussy," she murmered as she tucked the little pouch into her tunic and followed her friend out. 

* * *

_What do you think of the story so far? Please email all C&C's to [nikiparadis@hotmail.com][1]. Thanks for taking the time to read this._

_Illustrations to this story can be found in The Wayfarer's Inn Fanfiction Page .([http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wifanfics.html][2])._   
_Please visit my page: The Wayfarer's Inn ([http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wayfarers.html][3])_   
[][2]

   [1]: mailto:nikiparadis@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wifanfics.html
   [3]: http://members.xoom.com/WanderingGal/wayfarers.html



	3. Let the Search Begin!

**'Copy'**  
_A Slayers Fanfic.  
By: Niki 'NeeP' Paradis_  
Chapter Three: Let the Search Begin!  
  
One young thief woke up to a pounding headache and queasiness in her stomach. She felt drained and wondered if the particular experience that she was feeling was what a hangover was supposed to be like. She was quick to assume that it was.  
_I have decided that I DON'T like hangovers_, thought Kitsuan to herself. She shook her head and immediately regretted it. She waited a few more minutes until the spinning in her head had stopped.  
She had opened her eyes to a comfortable room and bright cheery sunshine streaming through her windows. She groaned and turned over to bury her head into her pillow.   
_Just one more hour_, she thought. _Or actually, another day wouldn't hurt either_.  
Unfortunately, she was out of luck.  
"Kit?" came a familiar voice from outside her door. "Are you awake?"  
"No, I'm not," she mumbled as she heard the door to her room open anyway.   
Copy came strolling into her room, closing the door behind him, and opened the curtains. "It's time to get up," he said.  
_Great_, sighed Kitsuan, _he's a morning person..._  
"Leave me alone, Copy...," she moaned. "I'm dying here..."  
Copy looked at her sympathetically for a moment. "What you need is some food in you," he said. "Everything's always better after breakfast."  
The young thief was starting to understand that 'Food' was Copy's answer to everything. "Why aren't you suffering like I am?" she asked. "You had waaaaaaay more to drink than I did."  
Copy sat down on the edge of the bed, as if the act of thinking was draining him of all of his energy. "I don't know," he said finally. "I woke up with a headache, but as soon as I wished for it to go away, it did."  
Kitsuan sat up suddenly and regretted it instantly. "You wished for it to go away? And it did?" she asked as she held her head.  
"Well... I might have said something else," admitted the young man, "but I have forgotten what."  
Kit fell back into the pillow. "Figures..." she mumbled as she pulled the blankets over her head.  
"C'mon, Kit. We really have to be going soon," he insisted.  
"I don't wanna," Kitsuan whined. "Why do we hafta go so early?"  
"**Hohohohohohohohohohohohoo!**" came an evil laugh from outside the room.  
"Well," said Copy, " I wanted to get away before she came to." He jerked a thumb towards the closed door.  
"Oh."  
The door burst open and Naga the Black Serpent strode into the room.  
"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Did you think that you could get away from me?"  
"Uhm..." said Copy as he strove to think of a suitable reply.  
"I don't wanna deal with this," groaned Kitsuan as she pulled the blankets even tighter around her head. "Go away, like the bad dream that you are..."  
"Oh, no, you little thief," growled the tall scary woman as she pulled the covers off of the bed. "You took something from me that I needed!"  
"Hey!" shrieked the young girl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!? There's a guy present!" Kit stole a glance at Copy as she used her hands to cover herself up.  
"Relax," muttered the scantily clad woman, gesturing to Kitsuan's tank top and panties. "You're wearing more than I am, and you don't have as much to show anyways."  
"Hey!" Kit was now feeling more angry than exposed. She looked at Copy to see what he thought, but found him otherwise occupied.  
"Huh?" said Copy as he tried unsuccessfully to remove his eyes from Naga's heaving chest. _How do they stay in there?_ he asked himself. _Glue?_ It must be one of the greatest mysteries of life.  
"Copy!" shouted Kitsuan. How can he be so fascinated with that woman's chest?  
The tall strawberry-blonde young man tore his gaze from the strange mystery and look towards his friend. "Gee, Kit... Where are your clothes?"  
"Ahhh! Copy! Turn away!"  
Copy spun around, confused. Why was she yelling at him?   
In disgust, Naga threw the covers back onto the bed. "Never mind him. Where's the bag you stole from me?"  
"We won the medallion fair and square!" exclaimed Copy who was still facing the other way.  
"The medallion, maybe. But my purse?"  
"Purse?" asked Copy as he turned around.  
"Yeah," grunted the tall woman, "my purse."  
"Kit..." One of Copy's eyebrows lifted ominously as he turned to face her.  
"Yeah, yeah... I'm sorry that I took your stupid purse," she mumbled as she sat up. "It's over there, on the chair." She pointed in the proper direction.  
The tall woman strode to the piece of furniture and picked up her missing property. She harrumphed and stuffed the small pouch down the front of her brassier. Copy's eyes bugged open wide as he watched the action.  
"You mean that there's room in there?!?" he asked incredulously.  
Naga smirked at the tall dumb man. "With babies this big, there's almost nothing that I can't keep in between them."  
"Oh." No real emotion or intelligence showed on the young man's face, so Naga quickly figured that he was a lost cause and turned to leave.  
"You better leave that medallion behind," suggested Copy.  
The white serpent stopped suddenly. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked, her voice straining to sound innocent.  
"I know that you stuffed in with your purse," said Copy. "We won it fair and square... Give it back."  
The tall woman turned and stared challengingly at the foolish man. "Take it from me, if you dare," she said.  
"Um..." Copy didn't know how to respond to that. He knew that it was wrong to stuff hands down where they weren't welcomed. He knew that it meant trouble if he did it by accident, and he certainly didn't want to try it on purpose.  
"Hohoho! I didn't think so..." The tall woman turned to leave.  
"For cryin' out loud, Copy!" snarled the young thief as she leaped from her bed, blankets and all and grappled with the taller woman. She plunged her hand into the region where her friend did not dare to tread and pulled out the treasure. She leaped off of Naga and thrust the medallion at Copy, who took it dumbly. Then she drew the blankets tighter around her and practically leaped for the comfort of the bed.  
The White Serpent stood stunned for a moment, her face red. Then she went thoughtful.  
"_'Copy'_..." she mused. "Now what was it about that name that I have heard before..?" Then she reached again down the front of her brassier and pulled out a piece of parchment. She began to chortle, as she looked it over.  
"Now what?" groaned Kitsuan from under the pile of blankets on the bed.  
"I have just remembered something of great importance! Hohohoho..."   
"What is it?" asked Copy.  
"Someone important in a puny town called Leyrun has put out a warrant for your arrest... Did you know that?"  
The young man sighed. "I'm not really surprised," he said. "They were pretty upset."  
"They didn't say why, but they insist on having you brought in." The scary woman reached once again down into forbidden depths, and pulled out what appears to be a small gem, and she held it up casually. "I have never had the use of these things before, but I am certain that it would do the trick.  
"What is it?" asked Copy in a confused voice. There was something in the back of his mind that was telling him to run, but he didn't know why he needed to be afraid of a little jewel.  
Naga flicked the small gem with unerring aim towards Copy. He yelped as he felt a sharp pain in the middle of his forehead. Kitsuan poked her head out from under the covers at the sound. She looked towards her friend who stood, stunned.  
"Copy?" asked Kit to her friend. "Hey, Copy? Are you okay?"  
He didn't answer.   
The young thief got out of bed with the blankets still wrapped around her. She went up to her friend and waved her hand in front of his face, trying to grab his attention. It didn't work.  
"Copy?" she asked again.  
Kitsuan was beginning to become concerned. He wasn't reaching for his sword, or even looking at Naga. He wasn't reacting at all. He just stood there with a blanker expression than what she quickly had come to know as normal. She wondered if the crystal that had adhered to her friend's forehead had something to do with Copy's lack of response.  
"**Hohohohohoho oh ho!**" chortled the barely clad sorceress. "He is under my control, little thief. He will do whatever I say!"  
"No!" cried Kit in disbelief.  
"Copy!" commanded the tall woman. "Seize her!"  
Like a marionette, the young man turned to the young girl and started to move stiffly towards her. Kitsuan backed away, nearly tripping over the blankets wrapped around her and quickly bumped into the chair where she left her clothes the night before --_and her dagger!_   
She seized her trusty dagger and yanked it out of its sheath. "Back off, Copy!" I don't want to hurt you!" But her words had no effect on him.  
Now she had a problem. Copy was the first person she felt that she could trust in a very long time. She didn't want to kill him. But as long as he had that damn crystal on his forehead...  
**_D'oh!_**  
As stiffly as Copy was moving, Kitsuan had the advantage. She chuckled at how easily it would be. As Copy reached to grab her, Kit used the pommel of her dagger against his forehead --and the crystal.   
It broke.   
And Copy fell to the ground unconscious.  
Naga stood stunned at the moment, over how quickly her plan had come undone. The she snarled at the young girl. "You owe me for that Control Crystal!"  
Kitsuan was astounded by the charge. "You Bitch!" shouted the young thief. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!?"  
"My job," retorted the tall woman. "Even a woman of my famed ability has to earn bread to eat, and that-" she pointed to the still unconscious Copy, "--was going to be my meal ticket!"  
Kitsuan was suddenly standing in front of Naga, her protective covering of blankets were left on the floor behind her. She had the point of her dagger just under the taller woman's chin. Naga's eyes were opened wide.  
"What are you doing?!?" she asked in a very small panicked voice.  
"What I am doing," said Kit softly, "is giving you until the count of three to leave... Or else."  
"What will you do?" asked Naga. "You won't kill me. And even if I leave, I will be free to track you down later."  
"I will deal with that later. But for now, you better leave."  
The tall woman sniffed, spun around and strode out of the room.  
Kit glared at the still opened door for a moment, then she slammed it shut.  
"Wow, Kit. That was pretty impressive."  
She turned to face Copy, who was starting to sit up. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.  
"Okay, I guess." The young man winced. "Except my headache seemed to have come back."  
"It will go away in a bit," assured the young girl. _I hope_.  
Copy nodded. "I'm gonna go downstairs," he said. "I am very hungry."  
"Okay, I will be down in a bit."  
Copy grinned. "Alright." He got up and walked to the door. He pulled it open again, paused and turned around. "Hey, Kitsuan?" he asked.  
"Yeah?"  
"I dunno if green panties suit you. You might want to try another colour."  
The young thief shrieked. And Kit's dagger was suddenly imbedded in the door jam beside Copy's head. Actually, only an inch away from it.  
"I was just trying to be helpful..." protested Copy.  
"Get out!!!" yelled Kitsuan.  
  
An hour later, Kitsuan and Copy were sitting at a table with the remains of an extremely large meal sitting on it.  
Aside from feeling a little miffed at Copy, the young thief did feel better after she had eaten. Her headache was still there, but now it was manageable. She was surprised at how much orange juice she had drank.   
"Well, we had fun over the last couple of days," commented Kitsuan. "Now what?"   
"Um," grunted the tall young man.  
"Did you want to stick together?" she asked in a half hopeful way. "Is there something that you have to do?" Kitsuan didn't want to be on her own again so soon. Copy was a nice guy, even if he doesn't seem to be completely there all the time. Not that she thought of him as anything else but a friend. But she hadn't had a friend for a very long time.  
"Well," said Copy slowly. "I have to go find someone... Or two someones, actually..."  
"Oh?" asked the young thief. "Who?"  
"I gotta go find Lina. Maybe Gourry too..."  
"Why?"  
"Um..." Copy suddenly seemed unsure of himself. "You promise not to laugh?"  
"Promise," she said.  
The tall young man took a deep breath. "There's something in the back of my mind that I don't understand. I have Gourry's memories, so I know that he never had this, uh, feeling before. And because I know that, that must mean that Lina might know what's this odd feeling is."  
"So, you're gonna go look for this Lina because of a 'feeling'?"  
"Yeah..."  
"That's a pretty strange reason, Copy," said the young thief. "But it works for me."  
"Really? You want to come along?"   
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Kit grinned at her friend. "It could be fun." _More fun than being on my own again, with no one to trust._  
  


* * *

  
"Where are we going, Lina?" asked Gourry Gabriev as he trudged behind the young sorceress.  
Gourry had the right to ask. He, Lina and the others have been travelling for a month. They had met with Zelgadis and Amelia in the city, and now they were travelling together.  
"We are going to a small town called Leyrun," replied Lina Inverse.  
"Why?"  
"According to the information that I've dug out of the Royal Library, there's a manuscript that contains a translation of the runes on this other manuscript."  
"And according to the historian," commented Zelgadis, "this manuscript is being held in a school in the village."  
"Do you think that we can find a cure for your condition, Mister Zelgadis?" asked Amelia.  
"One can always hope," sighed the Chimera. _Providing that I get to it before Lina does..._, he thought.  
"What are the chances that we would all meet in Seyroon, all looking for the same idol-whatchamacallit?" asked Gourry cheerfully.  
"Yeah," muttered Lina. "What were the odds..?" _Now I have to share..._  
"Well," said the swordsman, "it's great to be travelling together again."  
"Yeah!" agreed Amelia enthusiastically.  
  
Soon, they came to the outskirts of the town. It was almost twilight, and most everyone was inside his or her homes eating dinner. Thus, the streets were empty as they strolled along.  
"There's something very familiar about this place," commented the redhead.  
"Do you think so, Miss Lina?" asked the Princess.  
"Yeah, I do."  
"Is this something that you should be sharing with the rest of us?" asked Zelgadis.  
Gourry was distracted by a sheet of parchment that was nailed to the side of a building. He walked towards it and took a closer look. Then he pulled it off the wall and walked back to the group.  
"Hey, Lina. I think you should take a look at this."  
"What's that, Mister Gourry?" asked Amelia.  
Lina grabbed the parchment from her companion's hand and stared at it. She started cursing under her breath. "I have forgotten about that," she finally muttered.  
Zelgadis took the parchment from the young woman. He sighed as he looked at it.  
"What is it?" asked Amelia. The chimera passed the sheet over. The princess gasped as she realised that she was staring at a wanted poster for Miss Lina. They were asking for a lot of money too. "What are we going to do, Miss Lina?"   
"Aside from leaving as soon as possible, I can't really think of anything."  
"We're lucky that everyone's inside, then," said Gourry.  
"That's for certain," agreed Zel.  
"Should we go get some disguises?" asked Amelia.  
"No!" exclaimed the men of the group. The idea of disguises disturbed them for some reason.  
"We don't have time," grunted Lina. Let's go in, find this Master Thomas, get the manuscript and leave as soon as possible."  
"But what if the headmaster isn't at the school?" asked Gourry.  
"We'll figure it out then. We'll know in a few moments anyhow." And it was true, as they had just reached the gates of the school grounds.   
An old man was just locking up the school for the night. After checking the lock, he turned away from the doors and saw them standing there. His eyes opened wide at the sight of Lina and her companions.  
"You!" he shouted. The tone was accusing.  
  
In an extremely comfortable house, Lina and company sat around a huge meal, served by a very cheerful older woman.   
"So, you're the famous Lina Inverse!" exclaimed the woman. "The one who destroyed Phibrizzo and Gaav? More than glad to meet you."  
"Uh, thanks," said Lina. "You know, this food is really great!"  
"As always Tilly," agreed Master Thomas.  
"It's great to be cooking for someone else again," bubble the older woman. "Since Copy left, I don't get to cook as much as I would like. Thom and I don't need to eat as much."   
"Copy?" asked Gourry with his mouth full.  
"Our nephew," replied the aging wizard.  
"You remind me a great deal of him," said Tilly to Gourry, as she piled another couple of scoops of mashed potatoes onto the swordsman's plate.  
"I do?" asked Gourry.  
Lina noticed that Master Thomas suddenly rolled his eyes up at the comparison of his missing nephew to her partner. Maybe Mistress Tilly compared a lot of young men to this Copy.  
"You eat the same way that he does," replied Tilly.  
"We're really sorry about that last time," said Amelia contritely.   
Lina stopped eating. _The last time?_ she thought.   
Master Thomas actually chuckled. "Not a problem, Lass. I got that kopii machine up and running again within a few months. No lasting damage was done to it."  
_Oh, that. _Lina blushed. That was why the whole town and the old man seemed familiar.  
"Yeah," she mumbled. "Really sorry about that."  
Gourry looked blank. As usual.  
Soon dinner was done and the old wizard looked apprehensively at all of the empty dishes. Amelia immediately offered to help with the cleaning, but Tilly refused. Guests do not assist in the cleaning. It just wasn't right. Amelia sighed, then turned back to the conversation that Lina was having with the old wizard.  
"Anyway, from what the scholars of Seyroon were telling me, you have a particular manuscript that I need."  
"Aye, lass?" asked Master Thomas as he drew on his pipe. "And which manuscript are you talking about?"  
"It is an old worthless thing, really," said Lina, as she drew out a sheet of parchment on which she painstakingly replicated the odd Symbols that she couldn't understand on it. She didn't want the old man to see the original. Zelgadis nodded his approval at Lina's caution.  
The headmaster of the wizard's school studied the scrap of parchment. "You know lass, I think that I just might have that manuscript that you require. I do not have a use for it."  
"So, you'll give it to us?!?" Lina asked with excitement shining in her eyes.  
"Nay, I will not just give it to you, lass," retorted Master Thomas.  
"But," replied Lina, turning on her charm, "you said that it is of no use to you..."  
"That I did, lass."  
"But..." sniffled Lina.  
"What do you want for the manuscript, Master Thomas?" interrupted Zelgadis.  
"Ah," smiled the old wizard. "You're willing to bargain?"  
"Depends on the cost," countered the chimera.  
"All right, lads and lasses, we shall deal. For this manuscript that you need, I will gladly give to you --If you could go find my nephew and bring him here."  
"You want us to go get your nephew?" asked Lina incredulously. "Look pal, we're no bounty hunters."  
"No lass. What you are, are a group of determined young people who need a scroll from me. So, you will find my nephew, Copy, and bring him here to us."  
"We'll do it," said Zelgadis immediately.  
"But..." protested Lina.  
"Please lass," insisted Master Thomas. "I am truly worried about him, and Tilly misses him. I need someone to go and tell the lad that things aren't as bad here as they once were."  
"Right," sighed Lina. "So which way was your nephew heading?"  
  


* * *

  
Kitsuan was sitting at the table at the inn, waiting for her friend to return. The remains of a small plate of a strange local food called nachos sat in front of her. She was thinking about her relationship with the strange young man who called himself 'Copy'. But the thinking did not distract her from getting her work done. She reached over and managed to discretely snag a heavy purse from the pocket of an overly dressed and overly fed elderly gentleman. Trying not to hum to herself in triumph, the young girl pocketed the pouch into her own pocket. Now that she had acquired the funds to feed her companion when he returned, she could now focus her attention on figuring him out.   
_Who is Copy, anyway? _she wondered. He was a tall young man, with lavender eyes and incredibly long strawberry-blonde hair. He had an open honest face, which at most times appeared to be totally devoid of thought, and at others seemed to hold deep knowledge of strange things. He was a fabulous swordsman, who sometimes seemed positive that there were other methods to do things. But whatever the other knowledge or methods were, he didn't seem too positive that he knew exactly what they were.   
He had confided in her and explained that he was a kopii, a duplicate of another person, but an imperfect one. He was actually created out of two people, when he was supposed to be of only one. He had all of the memories and skills of a professional swordsman, and some undefined 'feeling' that he had inherited from a magic-genius.   
Kitsuan wasn't sure that she understood Copy's mission either. He said that he was on a quest to find the infamous Lina Inverse, the bandit killer. He said that he was positive that she would be able to explain the reason for the unusual thoughts and bits of knowledge in his head. --or something.   
But until he found what he was looking for, he assumed the role of a mercenary, a swordsman for hire. Which suited Kitsuan just fine. Between her own skills and the money that Copy brought in, they should be able to earn enough to travel comfortably--providing that the profits weren't eaten up.   
Kit was surprised that she agreed to go with Copy on his bizarre search. She had made casual contacts before with people when it suited her needs, but the relationship would end once the task was done. She couldn't quite figure out why she wanted to stay with the young man. She knew that despite his off remarks, that he wasn't at all interested in her as anything outside of a friend. Which suited the young thief just fine. She wasn't in the market for a boyfriend yet anyway. But Copy was a good friend already, and she knew that they would get through any situation just fine as long as they stick together.  
And the search was made even harder by the fact that there were bounty hunters after him. Sometimes they were after Copy with a warrant from the town of Leyrun, where he came from and sometimes a bounty hunter would mistake him for a Gourry Gabriev. Between Copy's and her own skills, they had managed to keep the bounty hunters at bay. So far.  
Kitsuan started to pick at the plate of nachos, wondering again about how the heck they were going to find a single sorceress who could be anywhere--anywhere in all the land. She was concentrating so hard on the situation, that she wasn't aware of anyone walking up to her until she heard a voice. They have been travelling for over a month now, following rumours and hints that seemed to lead to other rumours and hints.  
"Please don't tell me that is all there is for food," commented a dismayed voice.   
"Don't worry, Copy," replied the young thief, " I got the money for more." Then she looked up at the face of her companion and gasped. "What happened to your hair?!?"   
Copy sat down at the table and rubbed ruefully at the back of his head and his new haircut. "I sold it. I figured that it was the easiest way to earn the money for the headband. It cost me quite a bit, you know." He fingered the plain black headband on his forehead. Then he started to eat what was left of the nachos.   
Kitsuan snorted in disgust. "But it's so plain. If you wanted a headband, I could've gotten you a better one and much cheaper too."   
"You mean that you would have stolen one for me, is that it?" he asked.   
There was no answer. Copy shook his head, and shook a nacho chip at her.   
"I'm not going into that lecture again, Kit. You know how I feel about your stealing. But this is a special headband. It will keep off those Control Gems that that scary woman and any other bounty hunter could throw at me."   
"They didn't seem so powerful."  
"Well, that Naga woman simply wasn't very good in using them."  
Kitsuan blinked in confusion. "So why get it now? Why not right after that attack?"  
"This is the first town that I could find that carried the things, y'know?"  
"How do you know that the headband is going to work?" she asked.   
Copy stopped. He looked confused. He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he shrugged.   
"I really don't know how I know," he said. "I just do."   
A huge sweat-drop formed on the young thief's head.   
"B-but your hair..." she whimpered.   
"It will grow back," said Copy confidentially. "It's just that in the present circumstances, I'd rather have free will than long hair."   
"You'd better grow it back," muttered Kitsuan.   
"No problem." Copy blinked at his friends concern over his hair, then looked sadly at the now empty plate in front of him. "Can we order more food now?" he asked hopefully.   
"Sure," said the young thief loftily. "Order anything you want." She remembered that earlier that day, she and Copy had shared a huge breakfast. She was positive that he couldn't possibly be too hungry.   
"Great!" Copy waved over a serving girl. "Hey Miss. What the house special today?"   
"Roast beef with potatoes, peas, carrots, garlic bread and salad," replied the girl.   
"Sounds good --but I'm not as hungry as I usually am..."   
Kitsuan breathed a sigh of relief. _Maybe there will be money left over for once_, she thought for herself.   
"...So I'll only have five servings today!" finished the young man.   
Kitsuan fell out of the chair with a thud. Her hands and legs were in the o-yakusoku pozu position.   
Oblivious to Kitsuan's position on the floor, Copy looked around the room, then he focused his attention on the young girl as she was climbing back into her seat.   
"Are you okay?" he asked.   
"Yeah, sure. Just peachy," she muttered. "I'm just surprised that you're not eating as much as you usually do," she said sarcastically.   
"Yeah," said Copy, oblivious to the sarcasm. "Usually I eat seven or eight servings." He sighed. "I guess I'm just not that hungry..."   
Yet another sweat-drop formed on the back of the young thief's head. "You're amazing..." she said under her breath.   
"So did you find anything about where Lina went to?" he asked as he absent-mindedly rubbed his audibly growling stomach.   
Kitsuan shook her head. "Only that she and her group of 'brigands' went through here a few months ago."   
"Oh? Did you find out which way they were going?" he asked.   
The serving girl came back to the table, heavily laden with huge platters that threatened to topple. She managed to set them down before Copy grabbed a fork and stabbed the nearest roast. Shaking her head in astonishment, the girl turned to the young thief and presented her with the bill. Kitsuan sighed and handed the girl most of the money that she had just liberated from the elderly gentleman. She turned back to her companion to reply.   
"I only heard that they were headed east."   
"Mmmph. Then that's a good place to look then, right?" asked Copy with his mouthful, already on his second serving of roast beef.   
"Yeah, I guess," started the thief. Then she glared at her companion. "Why do you have to eat like that?!? Doesn't your memories tell you how Lina Inverse ate? I'm willing to bet that she was more civilized."   
Copy put down his chunk of roast beef for a moment. "Nope!" he said cheerfully. "She was much worse. Me--I mean, Gourry and Lina often competed to see who ate the most and who got the last bite of food."   
Another huge sweat-drop formed on the back of Kitsuan's head. "And you want to find this person?!?" she asked, astonished.   
Copy took a breath between mouthfuls. "I already told you why." Then he went back to inhaling his meal.   
The young thief could only watch in amazement as the food disappeared into the black hole that was her companion's mouth. Ten minutes later, Copy was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.   
"That was great," he beamed, patting his stomach. "I wonder what this place has for dessert..."   
Kitsuan shot up out of her chair with rage. "No dessert! We can't afford dessert!" she yelled. You already ate up most of our funds, Copy!"   
"Copy?!?" asked a burly man who resembled a thug but was dressed in a gaudy purple wizard's robe. He stood up from the bar and sauntered over to the table where the two sat. "Let me see if I understand this right, you're name is Copy, right?" he asked pleasantly.   
"You got it." The tall young man, nodded enthusiastically.   
"Hey!" hissed Kitsuan.   
"Then I, the great wizard, Faaboo, shall bring you to Justice!" The big man struck what he thought was a heroic pose, but instead looked foolish in the robe that he was wearing.   
A sweat-drop formed on both Copy's and Kitsuan's heads.   
"Another bounty hunter?" asked the young girl in a tired voice.   
"Looks like it," muttered the young mercenary.   
"I almost didn't recognise you with that haircut of yours," chuckled the wizard moving towards them. "The description describes you with long hair. But with your identity revealed, I can now take you out, in the name of Justice!"   
_This guy is worse than Amelia! _Copy stood up, reached to pull out his sword, the simple but well crafted weapon that Master Groning had made, out of its scabbard and was about to attack the other man when the innkeeper, a really big, really mean-looking woman, shouted from the doorway into the kitchen. "Hey! Take it outside! You wreck the place, you're gonna pay for it, you clowns!!!"   
The three combatants stopped, looked at the innkeeper, hung their heads in shame, and then dejectedly walked out of the inn and into the street.   
_At least I got to finish my meal_, thought Copy in relief. "Well," he said confidently. "Where were we?"   
"We were at the part, where I defeat you and claim the reward money--in the name of Justice!" announced the huge man.   
"You're not, by any chance from Seyroon, are you?" asked the young man.   
"Huh?" The Great Faaboo looked confused. "No. Why?"   
"Never mind, it's not important."   
"Defend yourself!" shouted the wizard.   
Kitsuan pulled her dagger out from its sheath. She stood ready, facing her opponent.   
"Just you?" she asked teasingly. "Jeepers! And I thought this was going to be a real fight."   
"Just you wait, little girl," sneered Faaboo. He looked at her appraisingly. "When I'm done here, I'll show you what a real man could do."   
"And who's the real man that you have in mind?" Kitsuan grinned.   
The man growled and started to chant a spell. A sullen glow formed around him. Kit was suddenly afraid.   
"Oh, no you don't!" shouted Copy as he charged at the wizard. He swung his sword towards the bounty hunter's head. Faaboo ducked, and was startled out of his concentration, he stuttered and the glow that surrounded him faded away.   
"You leave Kitsuan out of this! It's me you want!" shouted Copy as he swung his sword again.   
Faaboo dodged with surprising speed for such a huge man. He threw something at the young man, which bounced off of his plain black headband and shattered against the wall of a nearby building. Kitsuan, who was wisely trying to stay out of the way, saw the remains of a Control Gem on the ground. _Well, what do you know? It DOES work_ , she thought.   
The wizard scowled as he realised that his main attack was a failure, and he knew that the young man that he was attacking was faster with the sword than he was with his chanting. So, he decided to fall on his back-up plan. He whistled. Copy stopped his attack, confused. A whole army of thugs came out of the shadows of nearby alleys and doorways. They surrounded the duo with surprising speed. Kitsuan started to swear under her breath.   
Faaboo gave an ugly laugh. "You didn't want to make it easy for me, eh?" he asked. "Now lets see how well you fare against my Army of Justice!" He motioned the goon squad to close in.   
"Are you sure that you're not from Seyroon?" asked Copy again as he defended against the many knifes and swords. His curiosity was quashed as a knife tore through his sleeve and nicked him.   
Kitsuan was getting panicky. In her imagination, she saw what a bunch of barbarians could do to her young, supple, well-built body. She turned to her companion. "Copy! There's too many of them! We can't fight them all! What will we do?"   
Without saying anything, the tall young man sheathed his sword. The young thief's mouth dropped open in astonishment. She watched as he crossed his hands over his chest. The gang of thugs stopped, wondering why even an idiot would put his sword away in the middle of a serious brawl.  
"**Whatareyadoing?!?**" she cried out as she turned around to face the on-coming thugs again. "Pull your sword back out, dammit!"   
A voice filled with power spoke out from behind her.   
"RAYWING!"   
A huge gust of wind came up out of nowhere and Kitsuan felt strong arms slip under her own and pick her up. She almost dropped her dagger in disbelief as she watched as her feet leave the ground and the astonished Faaboo and his cronies behind. She shut her eyes for a moment, believing that she was seeing things. But when she opened them again, she found that she was still flying high over the city. She swallowed and struggled in the grasp of the person holding her.   
"Easy, Kit," said the voice behind her. "Don't struggle or you'll make me drop you." The voice was very familiar.   
"C-c-copy?" She stopped her struggles.   
"Yeah. It's me." Pride filled the young man's voice.   
"You're doing this?" asked Kitsuan in a small voice.   
"Yeah! Pretty good, huh?"   
They were now sailing over the countryside.   
"I didn't know you can do this," she said. "How come you didn't tell me?"   
"I didn't know I could. This is the first time I done this."   
"You've never done this before...?"   
"Nope!" replied Copy cheerfully.   
Kitsuan felt sick to her stomach. That lasted only a moment as she realised that the ground started to come up quickly.   
"Copy?" she asked.   
"Yeah?"   
"We're falling..."   
"What?!?"   
After a few moments of panic, Copy tried to slow down and descend gently onto a nearby hilltop. Unfortunately, the move was only partially successful. They reached the hill and were only ten feet above it when the spell finally gave out. Both thief and swordsman crashed into the ground with a very audible thud. They lay there quietly on the hilltop for a few moments, catching their breath, while the local scavengers wondered if they just hit the jackpot. Unfortunately, to their disappointment, their would be dinners started to stir.   
"You _HAVE_ to work on your landings," groaned Kitsuan.   
"I will," promised Copy in a pained voice. "But I never done that before."   
There were a few more minutes of silence.   
The young thief sat up. "How did you do that?"   
"I told you, I don't know." He looked thoughtful. "I wonder if Lina might know..."   
Kitsuan looked towards the setting sun. "You can ask her when we find her. Meanwhile, it's getting dark and we ought to set up for the night. This place is as good as any."   
"Yeah, I guess you're right."   
"And as soon as we can, we have to buy some armour for you. Those goons were a little too close for comfort and its gonna be tough for you to be a proper mercenary if you don't look the part... Not to mention that you may want to keep your skin."   
"I guess you're right," he sighed as examined the cut on his arm.  
"But to do that we're gonna have to save money, and not spend it all on food."   
"Kitsuan!!!" wailed Copy. "No fair...!"   
Meanwhile, back in town...   
Most of the shops had closed for the night, and all of the hired goons all went home to their wives and children. However, Faaboo still looked towards the horizon where his quarry had flown off. He was royally pissed off, and regretted not hiring his army for more than one day. He shook in rage. No one told him that the guy he was chasing was able to use magic. But he won't give up. Now he had a real challenge. He started to cackle in anticipation.   
"**I'll get you my Copy**," he shouted, "**_and your little thief too!!!_**"   
Nearby a stray dog howled.   
The innkeeper opened a window and shouted. "Shut-up, you idiot!" Then she threw a washbasin at him. The huge bowl struck the wizard in the back of the head and he dropped to the street, unconscious.   
  


* * *

  
They were standing in the middle of nowhere, at what seemed to be a sort of crossroads. The sun was shining overhead and there was absolutely nothing to stand under.  
"Now where do we go?" asked Amelia.  
"I have no idea," sighed Lina. "Zel, let's take another look at that map."  
"All right." The chimera opened the map up and everyone crowded around him. There were moans of dismay as they realised that they really were in the middle of nowhere. There were towns in four directions from where they were standing, and every one of them were two weeks away, if the distances were correct. The last town that travelled from was two weeks back on the one road, and the other towns on the map were spaced at least the same distance apart.  
"So, which way do we go?" asked Gourry.  
"I say that we go west, towards this town here, um, Vyranda," suggested Lina.  
"I'd rather go east towards Mompton," said Zelgadis.  
"I hear that there's a great beef specialty in Felinda," said Gourry, pointing to the northern town.  
"I think that we should go back to Sunnyvale," said Amelia, pointing south, behind them. "We could get more supplies and head off towards a town that's closer to there."  
"I hate backtracking," complained Lina.  
Then a voice came out of nowhere...   
"Hello, Lina Inverse," it said. A mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows, which was rather impressive, as there were nothing around to cast any. He was wearing the clothes of a travelling priest. His hair was straight and shoulder length and he carried a staff topped with a well-polished red stone. His face was in what appeared to be a permanent disarming smile as if he was laughing at the world. He regarded the group with a cheerful look. "Long time, no see."   
"Xelloss." It was not a greeting. Lina did not want to play any games with the mazouku. Moreover, according to the faces of Amelia and Zelgadis, they weren't too thrilled to see him either. Gourry's face was a blank for a moment. Then he smiled at the newcomer.   
"Hey, Xelloss. It has been quite a while, hasn't it?" Gourry beamed, pleased to greet an old acquaintance. However, the others remained quiet. Xelloss raised an eyebrow as if in question.   
"Well now... That's no way to greet an old friend now, is it?" His face and voice remained ever cheerful.   
"Who ever said that you were our friend?!?" shouted Lina.   
Xelloss' eyes opened wide for a moment, revealing violet irises with cat-slit pupils.   
"Whatever do you mean?" The eyes closed again quickly.   
Amelia pushed her way through to the front of the group.   
"You know exactly what we mean, Mr. Xelloss! You deceived us, then abandoned us to that awful Hellmaster guy. That was a very bad thing to do. So in the name of justice, I will have to punish you!" Amelia pointed and aimed her righteous wrath at the false priest. Before she could charge, she was frozen in place with a restraining spell.   
"I'm sorry, Amelia, I'm afraid that this is not a good time for me to play with you. I have some information that you may find very interesting."   
Lina crossed her arms and looked properly sceptical. "Such as...?"   
The corner of Xelloss' mouth turned up even further. "It's information about the man that you are charged to bring back."   
"You mean the man called 'Copy'?" asked Zelgadis.   
"That's the one." the false priest confirmed.   
"What about him?" asked the chimera.   
"There's more to him than you think."   
"Oh?" asked Lina. "Such as...?"   
"Copy is more than just the man's name. It is what he is."   
"Huh?" asked Gourry. Lina shoved an elbow into the swordsman's ribs.   
"Listen, stupid. Remember that lab where that old man was making little versions of you and me?"   
"Yeah, I think I do..." Gourry scratched his head thoughtfully.   
"Well, those were 'kopiis' --duplicates of you and me. Like that Kopii-Rezo. Remember him at least?"   
"No, not really."   
Everyone, including Xelloss, face faulted and fell to the ground.   
Lina's anger made her seem to swell to ten times her normal size.   
"That kopii almost killed us!!! How can you NOT remember?!?"   
"..."   
Wiping the sweat-drop aside, Zelgadis asked, "So what you are saying is that not only is 'Copy' the man's name, it is actually what he is, right?"   
"Bingo." Xelloss smiled even more.   
"Okay. I got it." Lina looked thoughtful.   
"So this Copy's a kopii. Is that right, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.   
"That appears to be the case..." mused Lina. "So, Xelloss... Who is this 'Copy' a kopii of, anyway?"   
"Well," mused the Beastmaster. "I can't tell you."   
A red aura glowed around the small sorceress. "_ And why not?!?_"   
"Because, my dear Lina Inverse, that..." Xelloss winked at her and wagged his finger, "that is a secret."   
"_**AAAAARRRRRGH!!!!!**_" The scream could be heard for hundreds of miles. Gourry had to hold Lina back before she could launch herself into the mazouku. Lina struggled with all her might. "I'm gonna KILL him!" she shouted.   
Zel scratched his head. "But I don't get it. Why do you want to help us? I'm sure that it isn't in your master's best interests."   
Xelloss waved his hand. "I know, I know. But you have to understand... Monsters thrive on chaos, you know. While most monsters yearn for total destruction and the return to the primal chaos, I prefer the little bits of chaos that can happen in day to day life and make it interesting."   
"Is that why you keep coming to torment us like this, Mister Xelloss?" asked Amelia.   
"That's it exactly." Xelloss nodded. "And by the way, you will find your man that way..." the mazoku pointed east.  
  
  



End file.
